Seed of Evil
by KaziRede
Summary: 8 months after the last needle was pulled, life seemed to return as close to normal as possible... until Claus shows up with no memory of what happened. With the strange things happening to Lucas, could it be possible Hinawa's alive too? SPOILERS AHEAD!
1. Prologue Newfound Loss

Welcome to my first ever Mother 3 Fanfic! Although I do not own Mother 3 (It being owned by Shigesato Itoi), I do own future original characters to this. **THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AHEAD! So enjoy!**

--

_Prologue_

A miracle should have happened; in some eyes, it looked like it did. But if one had seen through the bursting light, they would have seen a future of untold certainties... most of them darker than one hoped. If one would have seen past the bursting light, he could have seen the damage he will cause in the near future.

But to this boy, already broken up and emotionally drained, had no choice but to close his eyes, and wish against his will. He had to let what world he knew slip past his fingers in hopes of a better tomorrow. He was blind to what he had caused, to what beginning he had sowed unto this earth.

Through the fire and twisters, a single seed had been planted. But this seed would seen grow into a tree … a tree that would hold many evils to come.

The seed of new evil had been planted, and everyone was ignorant about its existence.

--

5 months later …

Flint waited in front of the door for countless minutes. Every time he tried to gather courage to twist the doorknob, it would somehow escape his grasp, leaving him too afraid to open the door once again.

What was he so afraid of, though? He knew what was on the other side, and it's not as if he hasn't faced it before. But why was it he was always so afraid to face it?

… Was he actually afraid of his own son?

No, it wasn't that. He had loved his son more than he would ever know. It's just that … ever since that day, 5 months ago, Lucas just hadn't been the same. Every time Flint looked into his eyes, they were always emotionless, soulless, a clear window looking into his mind. He had fallen silent, locked in his room with little contact of the outside world. Many times, the thief, Duster, and the princess, Kumatora, would try to break through and try to restore Lucas to his former self. But every time with no avail.

Flint finally breathed in and sighed heavily. It was now or never, Lucas would starve if he never came out of his room.

He lifted his had slowly and opened the door. Just as he imaged, Lucas was sitting in the middle of the floor in him room, staring at nothing in particular. Flint slowly approached the boy and laid his hand on his shoulder.

"Son," Flint began, "It's dinner time. It's going to get cold if we don't eat soon."

As if it were a command, Lucas got up and made his way towards the kitchen where he and his father would eat, without so much of an "okay". Flint sighed once more, his menial task done, and soon followed Lucas to the dinner table.

The meal was silent as always. The only sound heard was the wind slightly blowing outside, and Boney's weird snoring as he slept. Flint tried once or twice to make conversation, but each time failed with a hard hit, as Lucas would only slightly nod or just stare into his soup with only a tiny 'hm'.

Well, at least he was listening.

Flint copied his son and stared at his reflection in the soup. He wasn't a great cook, he could admit that, but he at least made decent meals for one to eat. Lucas never complained and/or commented about his cooking, which made Flint a bit uneasy, but either way, his son had to eat.

Flint finally looked up and stared at his son, clearing his throat. "Lucas …"

Lucas looked up from his soup and stared at his father.

"Lucas, my son …" he hesitated, "I … I don't know what's going on through your mind but …" he shook his head, trying to decipher what his heart wanted to say. "I … I feel like you're in terrible pain since … well … THAT happened."

Lucas stared on, giving no reaction.

Flint Continued "All I want, Lucas, is for you to be happy again. I'm in great pain too, but there is no use trying to dwell on the past. Besides, think of all the great things you did for other. Only a person with as much compassion as you could only do that."

Lucas still gave no reaction.

Flint cleared his throat once again, "Your mother and brother are dead, but all your work was not in vain. They gave to us so you could remake the new world you dreamed of." He gestured outside the window "Look at this son. This is your work! People couldn't be any happier!"

Flint Approached his son, determined to try to get some sort of reaction from him. "Lucas … we now have the chance to be happy again. All I want is to see you smile, to frown, even to cry … I just want to know that my son is still there, and he knows what good things he did."

Flint turned away from his son, trying to hid his own emotion. "I-I'm sorry Lucas …" he said, "I'm just … being weird, is all …" He walked back towards his original position at the table, when he heard a tiny voice say something he though he would never here …

"Dad …?"

Surprised, Flint turned around and saw something he never had seen before: emotion. Lucas was finally displaying emotion. His eyes were tearing up and everything!! Flint was so ecstatic that he ran to his son and enveloped him in his arms. It was a sight, though unusual, would make any heart melt as this father finally broke his son's shell and returned him to light.

"I promise, Lucas …" Flint said, "We'll make the most of this and make it out happiness." Flint backed away from his son. "It'll take work, but I know you and I can do it … and …" his voice trailed off, looking at his son.

Just as suddenly as he regained his emotion, Lucas started sweating. Flint noticed that he wasn't looking too well. "Lucas? Are you alright?" But as he uttered those words, Lucas fell sideways with a hard 'crash' to the floor. With no hesitation, Flint rushed to his side, afraid he may have lost another family member.

With no wasted time, Flint had rushed Lucas to the doctor's clinic. The doctor's had done everything in their power to make sure he was okay. He knew they would be able to help him: what he didn't like was waiting. He was forced to sit outside of the office waiting for news.

Just as Flint cursed to himself for the umpteenth time, the nurse came out, her expression making him a bit more relieved. "It seems to be a fever of sorts." She simply said.

Flint's smile faded away. "What do you mean 'of sorts'?"

"Well …" The Nurse glanced sideways, "He has a high fever, and his body is doing the right things to fight against it. It's just …"

"What?" Flint grunted.

"Well … it seems that the fever isn't doing any harm at all. No dehydration, nothing with his stomach, nothing with his brain … It's just as if he just stayed up for the past few nights without a wink of sleep."

"But I had made sure he gotten his sleep …" Flint said, worried that he may be accused of something.

"No, I'm sure you are …" The Nurse said, shaking her head, "But it doesn't matter now. All we can say is that he needs to rest and he'll get better, okay?"

Flint sighed heavily and thanked the Nurse as he walked into the clinic. Lucas was right there on the bed, sleeping peacefully as if nothing happened. He did notice that the way he slept right now and how he was sleeping was different in a way. Was he just not sleeping at all, but looked as if he did to please his father?

Flint pulled up a chair and sat down. He was unsure of what he had to do next: he would usually leave the healing to Hinawa. The nurse just said he would be okay, but being the worried parent he is, he just had to make sure of that.

He briefly looked up at the clock. It was late in the evening, he noted, but not so late as to call for bedtime yet. It was well past an hour after all that happened. He looked back at Lucas to see him move slightly in his sleep, muttering silently.

"Mom …"

Flint's heart sank. Was Lucas still in pain? Was this the cause of his fever? Was he just simply stressed out over all that happened?

Flint shook his head. It didn't matter as long as he could work with Lucas to try to move past the pain. He knew how hard it was, and being this young, it had to be harder. Despite that, if they were ever going to be happy again, they need to look past what has happened and look forward in what's coming.

The Minutes flickered by, and soon it would come close to 10:00. He would stay beside Lucas as long as it took.


	2. Operation Rescue part 1

A week past by since Lucas was admitted to the hospital

A week past by since Lucas was admitted to the hospital. Lucas's condition didn't get any better, but on the other hand, it never worsened. Either Way, Flint stayed by his bedside day and night, only leaving for food or hygiene purposes. After a little while though, Duster started getting worried about Flint, so he started checking up on him every now and then.

"Wow, it's still raining …" Duster whispered more himself than anyone, but was hoping for an answer from Flint. Unfortunately there was none.

"And it's getting harder by the hour. Boy, I hope it doesn't flood"

"Hm."

"I mean … with the river already deep as it is …"

"Hm."

Duster slightly glared at Flint. "You know, you could at least donate another word towards this conversation."

"Hm."

Duster Sighed "I'm sure Lucas is fine. Just look at him! He's sleeping very peacefully!"

Flint twitched at Duster's words. In reality, Lucas wasn't sleeping peacefully most of the time. He would from time to time get up and start wondering around the hospital, as if looking for something. He had returned to his state of soulless, blank state. The only time his emotion would return was at night, when he was dreaming. The nurses kept passing it off as "A really bad nightmare", but Flint felt in his heart there was something more.

Duster coughed "He's remaining very still at the moment … he could be getting better".

Flint was about to say something when the door slammed open. Startled, Duster literally jumped up a few feet, and met eyes with his own father, Wes.

"Dad! Try to be careful! Lucas-!" Duster said in a tiny voice.

"NOT NOW, SON!!" Wes roared, then promptly looked at Flint. "Flint, we have an emergency!! T-The river down hill has flooded and-!"

"Was everyone evacuated to higher ground?" Flint said on a flat tone.

"Y-yes … but-!"

"Then everything should be fine …"

"But Flint, when we did a head count … we were missing some one … we're afraid he or she may have fallen in the river!"

Flint finally got up and sighed. "Alright, lets see who isn't here. Who do you remember coming here?"

"Well …" Wes said, concentrating "I remember Lighter and Fuel, Leder, Mapson, Nippolyte … Just about everyone, I really can't think who's missing"

Duster uttered in a few words "Don't forget Alec. He was the one doing all the evacuating!"

Wes Rolled his eyes "I was GETTING to him …"

"What about Thomas?" Flint asked.

Both Duster and Wes stood silent.

"You did see Thomas come in here, right?" Wes asked Duster

"Uh … No … did you?" Duster uttered back.

Flint looked out the window to the river down below, its raging stream getting larger and rougher by the minute. He then studied the banks of the river and noticed pieces of wood scattered.

"Where is Thomas's house in relation towards the river?" Flint asked.

Wes thought for a moment "Hm … well … just a few miles up-stream, 'bout 15, possible 30 feet from the ri-."

Wes stopped mid-sentence, struck by the horrible reality.

Duster, who was thinking the same thing, jumped to action "We all need to get to the river and find him! He could be drowning as we speak!"

Flint was about to rush out the door when he looked back at Lucas. He was still sleeping peacefully, but that didn't mean he couldn't do anything dangerous while they were gone. Duster, studying Flint's face, thought of an idea.

"Look … why don't we just simply lock the door and ask Tessie to guard the outside? There's not much he can do while there's so many people here."

As much as he wanted to stay with Lucas, he knew he had a job to do. He had no choice but to accept Duster's plan.

Duster nodded "I'll get Bronson and Alec. We may need their help" Duster said, walking out the door.

Flint took one last look at Lucas before closing the door. Duster did have the right idea; Lucas couldn't do much in an empty, locked room. He could even still be sleeping when the came back. Trying to calm himself down, he took a few steps away from the door before finally rushing outside.

It was pouring rain. It was supposed to be mid-day, but the myriad of clouds made it as dark as night.

Gearing up the best they could against the rain, Flint, Bronson, Alec, Duster, and Wes prepared for the rescue. The were soon after joined by Lighter, who was, as always, carrying a large log on his shoulder. The crew thought that that may be helpful if the needed to get across the river.

"I hope he hasn't drowned by now …" Bronson sighed worriedly.

"I'm sure he's okay. Thomas is a smart man, he would know how to handle himself." Duster replied.

"Why thank you, Duster!!" A voice came from behind the group. They all turned around, and found that, not only was Thomas okay, he was also geared up heavily against the rain.

Duster stood in shock "We … we thought you were in danger!"

Thomas only smiled "Well, not really. I was just making sure there were no more people here who needed to be recued."

Alec shook his head "Sorry to break it to you, Thomas, but everyone was already evacuated to higher ground. Everyone is safe as far as we are aware."

Duster motioned to the river "Guys, if we don't leave soon, we'll ALL be in danger."

Wes nodded "As much as I can't believe it, Duster is right. Everyone's safe, there's no need to look into this further. We all just need to hide out in the hospital until the water level recedes and the rain has ended."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Flint looked to the sky and thanked whoever was out there silently to himself. There would be no lives lost today.

But as the gang ventured back to the hospital, Tessie, the nurse in charge of watching Lucas, rushed out into the pouring rain, her face fixed with fright.

"Tessie? What's wrong?" Duster asked.

"Lucas … he …" Tessie took a moment to catch her breath, "Princess Kumatora, Fuel and I entered the room to make sure he was okay … and ..."

"What is it?" Flint asked coldly.

Tessie sounded more frightened than ever "Lucas … he's gone! He … somehow escaped his room and … and now he's missing ..!"

The new had hit everyone hard, especially Flint. Duster had noticed Flints face and saw something he never saw before in all the time he knew him: Flint was scared.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\


	3. Operation Rescue part 2

It's a short chapter, but all I could fit in a busy day.

--

Just as Flint was told, Lucas was missing. He was not in his bed, in his room, or even in the hospital. Kumatora said she already scoured every inch of the building, but there was nary a sight or sound of Lucas. Upon further investigation, they found a make-shift rope out of the blanket Lucas was nestled under, and they figured that Lucas may have escaped with that.

"Even in a blank state, that boy's pretty smart" Kumatora said to Duster, "But … why would he wonder OUTSIDE of all things?"

Duster shrugged "It did seem like Lucas was looking for something, and he probably found out that 'something' wasn't here …"

"So he though it may be outside?" Kumatora asked, skeptical.

Duster Shrugged again. "It could be out there …"

Wes was about to strike his son when Flint spoke up "Lucas couldn't have gone far then. He may be out of it but he has to have some instinct that says 'stay away from the water'. But still …" Flint trailed off, looking at the banks of the river to see any sign of his son. But the only thing he saw before were the pieces of scattered wood. Thomas had already confirmed his house was okay, so what was causing all that wood?

Flint turned around "Gather all the people you can, we're going out there again." Flint said sternly.

Orders followed, Flint and Kumatora had gathered as many people as they could find, including Lighter and Thomas. Reluctantly, Lighter brought Fuel along when he said he'll assist in any way. There was an argument, but Flint quickly ended it with a death glare.

"We'll split up in two groups. One group will go up river, the other will venture down. Some one will need to stay here … just in case." Duster commanded.

Lighter immediately raised Fuel's arm, and he quickly took the spot. Annoyed, Fuel pulled his arm away from his dad and glared at him "What was that for?!" Fuel yelled at his father.

Lighter kneeled down to Fuel "Son, I don't want you to get into any danger like Lucas. You stay here and keep watch."

"Keep watch of what?! There's nothing interesting here!!" Fuel said, agitated.

Lighter turned and faced Flint "Well, tell us if anything interesting DOES show up."

Fuel was about to say something, but his father was already out of ear's reach. He sighed and sat on an outcropping rock. "I doubt I WILL see anything even remotely interesting."

While Bronson and his group headed up river, Flint, Kumatora, Duster, Alec and Lighter headed down river. The more they ventured, the more scattered wood there was.

"It looked like some house may have been washed down with all this rain." Duster commented.

"I hope Lucas wasn't caught up with all that …" Kumatora said softly. She then turned to Flint, trying to decipher what he was thinking. Unfortunately, nothing was giving any clue as to what.

As the group walked past a few trees into the dense forest that the river ran into, the Group was met with a horrible and somewhat confusing surprise: the wood that was washed downriver now piled up high to make a mess of a dam. Because of it, it started to prove difficult to venture any further.

They were about to turn back when Kumatora saw something: on top of the whole wood pile-up, a familiar face was recognized. Kumatora saw past the rain to see it was Lucas!

Kumatora gasp "LUCAS!" She called out. She then started to step on the wood, only to find out it would break under her weight. She was cursing to herself and wondering how he ever got up there in the first place.

Duster sighed "We can't climb up there to get him … There has to be a way to get him down."

Flint sighed "There's no way he'll listen to us. Plus, knowing him, he may get too scared to come down again."

"Then there's no choice but to come up to get him." Kumatora replied, "But what if the dam breaks under one of us?"

Duster snapped his fingers "I think I may have an idea!" Duster said excitedly "Lighter, We'll need you. Cut down the biggest tree you find!"

Lighter did as commanded and found a 10-foot tree. It wasn't big enough to reach across the river, but it was just what Duster needed. Then, with the help of Flint, he and Lighter laid the tree up against the make-shift dam, diagonal from the bank. Duster then grabbed a roll of rope, tied himself to one end and the other end to a tree.

"I'll just use this Tree to climb up the dam. Flint, Kumatora, and Lighter, hold the other end so it doesn't slip." Duster commanded.

"Be careful, Duster." Kumatora said in a small voice. Slowly, one foot after another Duster climbed up the tree, inching closer to Lucas. Thankfully, Lucas seemed very affixed on the river, and he didn't seem to move anywhere. Just a few inches more and he would be able to reach Lucas.

The wood had reached its limit. Under the pressure of all the rain and the water and finally under the weight of the tree, the wood started to splint. Duster felt the wood breaking and hurried up the tree. He then reached Lucas, who gave him no greeting what so ever. Flint tied some rope around his waist, thankful he gave no resistance towards it.

Duster sighed: One phase down, now all he had to was get down the tree.

CRACK! The Wood spilt under the two, leaving them falling into the river. Both Flint and Kumatora ran to the bank, their eyes scanning the waters for any signs on life. Alec and Lighter pulled on the rope that the two were tied to, and fortunately, the two surfaced. They were scratched a bit, but to the naked eye, they were both fine.

Duster held Lucas tightly to his chest, making sure his head was above the water. He was breathing okay, that was good, but it looked like he was knocked out from the impact. Doing his best, he swam to the bank.

Flint went to Lucas's side. All he wanted to do now was make sure Lucas was okay and shield him from the rain. But on a second scan, he noticed that Lucas wasn't knocked out … he was … sleeping. Sleeping as if nothing had happened …

--

Fuel was getting impatient. Watching the river after a while does get rather boring. Finally, almost driven by madness, Fuel got up and decided to search around. I mean, going only a few feet from where he was, he couldn't get in much trouble, right?

He decided to venture upstream. By this time, the rain was starting to die down, making the river a little bit safer to cross on a log. As he thought, Fuel saw nothing of interest. At least, not at first glance.

He had spotted a bush … a very oddly shaped one. He approached it, stick in hand. He poked it a few times, and on the 3rd poke, he felt the stick poke something … hard ... He had thrown his stick aside and parted the leaves in the bush, and couldn't believe his eyes on what he saw …

A person he thought was dead. A Person he thought he would never see again …

Claus.


	4. Reunion

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--

Hooray, another short chapter --;;

--

Flint never felt happier, or so he assumed. He felt as if nothing would ever go wrong again. As he carried his still sleeping son on his back, his heart elevated to new levels of happiness. When he saw his son, alive and well, albeit konked out and sound asleep, he had made a silent promise to himself never to let anything like that again.

Duster too felt the same happiness, but with a hint of worry as well. He just couldn't shake the feeling … SOMETHING was going on with him. There just HAD to be a reason Lucas wondered out to the pouring rain like that. He still stuck with the notion that he was searching for something … or someone.

Duster rubbed his arm in worry. He realized things could have been much worse, but things were still unsettling about his situation.

Kumatora saw Duster rubbing his arm and approached him. "Anything wrong with you arm, Duster?"

Duster almost jumped, but he realized it was only the princess before he could do that. "It's nothing, really … I just wrenched my arm pulling on the rope, I'll be fine."

Kumatora looked down on the ground "I was really worried, you know."

"About Lucas?" Duster aked.

"Well … yes but … I was worried about you too." Kumatora said softly.

Duster looked at Kumatora, bemused "You were? Geez, you knew everything would be alright."

"Well ..." Kumatora started, "I was worried you could have gotten hurt and …"

"FLINT! FLIIIINT!!" Fuel's voice rang out from a distance, interrupting the two.

Fuel ran up to Flint, out of breath. "Flint … you gotta come quickly … I found-!" Fuel stopped short, realizing what he was about to say.

Flint just looked at him, his face emotionless "What?" He asked flatly.

"Just … Just follow me. You may not believe me when I tell you, so I'll just show you."

Fuel led the group to the previous spot he was in, across the river. He led Flint to the bush, but refused to touch. "You … may just want to see for yourself. I'm still getting over the shock …"

Flint looked at Fuel, trying to figure out what he could be talking about. He gave Lucas to Duster, then kneeled down to the bush, parting the leaves.

Fuel had regretted ever showing Flint what he had found. Flint fell backwards in surprise, gasping. He was uncertain what Flint would do next, either yell at Fuel for showing him such a sight, or maybe even go wild and start thrashing about: Good thing his dad was here, still carrying a giant log.

Flint Looked at the body. It was his own son, Claus, a son he thought he lost so many months ago. He remembered the fight he and Lucas had, how he had basically killed himself by using a thunder attack against Lucas, it being bounced back. He remembered the heart-wrenching scene that ensued, right before Lucas pulled the final needle. He just couldn't believe his eyes: it was as it none of that ever happened …

Flint stroked his hand against his son's face. It was warm, and it had plenty of color. He pressed two fingers against his wrist, feeling the soft and even heartbeat he had. He was definitely alive. But how did he get here in the first place?

He was about to ask Fuel that question when he heard Claus stirring. Surprised, everyone stepped back, including flint. Claus slowly stood up and shook his head, as if waking from a dream. His brown eyes locked with Flint's, silence following.

"Hey … why are we all out here?" Claus asked, dazed and confused.

Both Lucas and Claus were rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible. Nothing was wrong with Claus, just a tiny scratch across his left cheek. And also, strangely enough, Lucas came through with a clean bill of health too: No colds, no broken bones, nothing. He just slept soundly with no disturbance.

Shortly after, they returned to the same room they were in. But no matter how calm everyone was, no one could hide the shock of what happened.

And Claus, thought to be dead after five months, had no recollection of his previous experience. In fact, he could not remember anything past the point where he fought the drago.

Flint, Claus, and the sleeping Lucas sat in the room, an awkward silence becoming a miasma. Flint was just too afraid to speak to Claus: What could he say to him? What would anyone say to a son thought to be dead?

Fortunately, Claus broke that silence. "So … what happened to Lucas?"

Flint shook his head, trying to find an answer. "He's … just a bit sick … well, he was …"

"But he's getting better, right?" Claus asked expectantly.

"Of course he is." Flint answered.

"What was he doing outside?" Claus piped up.

"I'm not even sure …"

"Was he sleepwalking?"

"I guess you could say that."

Claus then walked up to his brother's bed and shook him a bit, much to Flint's dismay. "Lucas! Wake up!" He demanded.

Flint shook his head as Lucas stirred. He moaned a bit, stood up and rubbed his eyes, and faced Flint, who smiled slightly. But his smile quickly faded as Lucas looked at Claus with the same emotionless eyes as before.

"Hi Lucas! Are you feeling any better?" Claus asked excitedly

Another awkward, and heavy, silence occurred. Flint didn't know whether to but in and take Claus away or just let the situation play out. He knew this was once of Lucas's wishes, to see his brother again, but how would he react upon seeing his wish come true.

Lucas took Claus's right arm and studied it thoroughly. Both Claus and Flint were surprised and confused on as of why, but neither one asked. Lucas then locked eyes with Claus, studying him deeply.

"Er … Lucas, what are you doing …?" Claus asked slowly.

Suddenly, Lucas's emotionless eyes filled with tears as he hugged his brother tightly. Claus had no idea how to react, or even why his brother was acting this way. He was used to seeing his brother crying over the most menial of things, but this, of course, was new. He never saw his brother just burst out crying like this before.

Flint, on the other hand, had acted at this. He approached his sons and hugged them both. Lucas actually calmed down from this and rubbed his eyes, trying to prevent any future tears. Claus looked at his father, obviously confused. "Dad … what's going on …?"

Flint smiled "Believe it or not, Son, a lot more has happened than you think."


	5. Epiphany

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So after two short chapters, I decided to write one LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG chapter. enjoy!

--

"So …" Duster began, "You've managed to make up the story that Claus was in a coma for 3 and a half years, and some one just happened to pick him up and put him out there _on accident_ …"

"Yep." Flint replied.

Duster Continue "AND, to add to that_, he believed it …"_

"Mm-hmm." Flint answered.

Duster look at him for a long time, then sighed. "Well, there are weirder things, I guess."

"He may be almost 14 years old, but for some reason he still has the mind of a ten-year-old." Flint said, "So it's still easy to … turn around the truth."

"The truth that he was taken by the pigmask army and turned into some biomechanical weapon bent on stopping his brother from pulling the needles no matter what?" Flint asked, a tone of sarcasm hinted.

"Yeah."

Duster sighed "There's just something unsettling about this." He said, scratching his head. "To have some one just come back from the dead like that … It always felt like some taboo to me."

Flint remained silent, deciding not to argue with Duster.

"... well … what are you going to do now?"

"What else can we do?" Flint replied "We're going home."

"Just like that?" Duster said "You're not going to investigate this any further? He could be some robot or evil twin or clone trying to kill you and Lucas!"

Flint faced Duster, glaring at him "I will investigate this … but not now, so much as happened and I just want things to settle down."

Duster looked sideways "I guess I can give you that."

Flint looked at Duster, smiling "Thank you."

--

Claus stared at Kumatora as she did the last of her healing on Lucas's wounds. He touched his cheek where his scar was, healed with Kumatora's "power". All that was happening was severely confusing Claus, but he decided he wouldn't question anything. He knew something fishy was going on, he could feel it in his gut.

"Alright, fixed." Kumatora said as she drew her hand away from Lucas's arm, "Just remember to becareful, next time."

Lucas blinked, then tilted his head "Be careful of what?"

Kumatora shook her head, confused "You mean … you don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Lucas asked.

"That you-!" Kumatora stopped herself, then smiled at Lucas "Well, if you honestly don't remember then … Maybe it's better if you don't know at all."

Lucas blinked and got out of bed, "Did something happen while I was asleep?"

Kumatora sighed heavily "Yes, something did happen, but I think it is better that you don't know." Kumatora winked at Lucas before going out the door "Just remember to stay in bed next time."

Lucas looked at Claus, who merely shrugged "I dunno what she's talking about either."

"I remember something … Or at least I think I do … I was having another dream about mom." Lucas said, his voice trailing off.

"You were mumbling something about her in her sleep." Claus said, "But it's weird: I've been a coma for 3 and-a-half years, but it feels like Mom only died yesterday."

Lucas looked sideways "You were spared of the pain."

"Hey, don't say that!" Claus yelled, "I'm as sad about Mom dying as you are!"

Lucas did his best to hold back tears, then faced Claus "I'm sorry … I shouldn't have said that … I've just been through … a sort of 'coma' myself."

"Huh? Really?" Claus said

Lucas Nodded slightly "According to Dad and the others, for some reason, I was just out of it. Bad part is, I can't remember anything: only Mom's voice talking to me."

Claus looked at Lucas, skeptical "But she's _dead_"

"It … It may have been a dream …" Lucas said in a very shy voice.

"Is that all you dream about nowadays? Just about Mom?" Claus asked

Lucas turned away, trying to hide more tears "I … I miss her."

Claus sighed "I miss her too." He said, "And bet Dad misses her a lot"

Lucas looked at Claus "I've been trying my best to move on, but it's been hard and very painful." Lucas said, "Now that you're back – er, I mean … out of that coma, it just may be a little easier for me."

Claus chuckled a bit "I'll help you if you'll help me: I'm the one who's been out of it for almost 4 years."

Lucas smiled "Yes. A lot has changed."

"I bet." Claus said, walking out of the room with Lucas.

Lucas looked at his dad, and whispered to himself. "No Claus," he said softly, "you have no idea.

--

_3 months later…_

Life started raveling itself back to normal – or as close to normal it can get. It was hard to answer Claus when he had a question about his past: They'd always have to hide the truth, turn the truth around, flat-out lie, or just say nothing at all. All of them were hard to do, especially the last option: Claus would pester some one about it until they answered, but he was still not satisfied.

As for Lucas, he had started to act like his normal self, making Duster, Kumatora, and especially Flint happy. He was a little more cheerful and active, though still a little shy, and always willing to help whenever he can. His father wasted no time in putting him and Claus to work herding the Sheep and tending to the home. Whenever they had free time, the two, followed by Fuel sometimes, would play near the river, talking and fishing.

Lucas still felt … incomplete, somehow. He was getting better at hiding it, but he still missed his mother dearly. At times he would go to his mother's grave and just stare at it, sometimes for hours on end. Claus had gotten the hint that he needed some alone time, and made sure no one disturbed him while he was in his meditative state. But he couldn't help but wonder what the heck he was doing that for.

So much so that he dared to approach his brother when he acted like this once again …

"Okay, Lucas, fess up." Claus said out loud.

"Wha-?" Lucas managed to blurt out before his brother grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What is going on? You've done this for months, every week. I've managed to keep my mouth shut and guard you while you were doing this, but darn it! I want answers, now!" Claus shook Lucas slightly "WHY. ARE. YOU. DOING. THIS?!"

Lucas wiped his brother's hand off his should and turned to his mother's grave. "Claus, can you promise me something?"

Claus sighed "Fine, if it'll get you to fess up."

"You promise to not say anything negative, although you don't have to believe what I say or not."

Claus rolled his eyes "Yes, yes, I promise, just please say it!"

Lucas turned to his brother "It just somehow feels … That Mom's spirit is somehow talking to me."

Claus stared at his brother. "What?"

"I mean … I can sort of … feel her … it feels like she's hugging me, guiding me, walking by my side … I can swear, I hear her singing to me every night as I go to sleep."

"And what will going to her grave accomplish?" Claus asked flatly.

"I … I don't know. I guess I'm just waiting for an answer on what it means." Lucas said, staring at the grave.

Claus shook his head "Stone doesn't talk, dummy," He said, "So I doubt you'll get your 'epiphany' here."

Lucas turned to Claus and laughed "Epiphany? Where did you learn a word like that?"

"I heard Dad use it," Claus said "Among other words."

"Are the sheep still out?"

"Yeah, Boney and I managed to keep them in a group: we better head home before dad comes looking for us again." Claus said, laughing.

"Yeah, we better. But I wouldn't mind not coming home: His meals aren't like moms." Lucas said, laughing along with Claus.

"They're NOTHING like mom's! I mean have you seen the way he makes an omelette? He keeps burning them!" Claus said, laughing louder.

'OI!' Boney barked at the two young children, 'You better take me home and feed me, or else I'll tell Flint what you said!'

Claus looked at Lucas "He really can't, can he?"

"Oh, he'll do it!" Lucas said, smiling.

"Then we better hurry home!" Claus said, guiding the sheep towards home.

--

After the two ate Flint's dinner that he made, he drove them off to bed. Of course, Flint had _no_ idea when to put his children to bed, so he always had them in too early. Claus tried to complain once, but it got him in deep trouble (He had to clean the sheep's stalls for a week). Thankfully, Flint never checked on them more than twice, and if he did, they would always fake the sleeping just to drive him away. So when they were 'sent off to bed', they would merely play games or tell stories until they were really tired. As long as they were silent, they were fine

"Hey, Lucas" Claus said, turning a page of the book he was reading on the floor.

"Yeah Claus?" Lucas said from the top bunk of his bed, messing with a paper plane he had made earlier.

"Dad's not going to come in again, isn't he?" Claus asked quietly.

"I … don't think so, he already check on us once." Lucas answered.

"So … do you think you can show me …" He glanced left and right, as if to make sure no one was listening "_that power_ again?"

Lucas grunted "Claus, I told you, I only use it when I'm in danger!"

"But there's never any danger around! You have the most awesome powers!!" Claus said excitedly "_Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease_, just once, and I promise I'll never ask again!"

Lucas sighed. Despite the fact that he knew this wouldn't be the last time he asked, he got down from his bed and sat on his knees near Lucas "Okay, but only once." Lucas stated.

"YES!!" Claus said, trying his best to remain quiet.

Lucas breathed out and concentrated. It has been a long time since he actually used all of his power. He would only use tidbits just to make his brother happy. So it had been a bit tougher for him to Summon the power he needed.

His hands glowed slightly as the power made itself visible. Claus peered at it, a smile covering his face. "Woooow, that's cool!" he said as the power faded away "Now show me the lightning one!"

"But you said-!"

"Last time, I really mean it!" He said, putting his hand over his heart.

"That once is really dangerous Claus!" Lucas said, "It could really … hurt … you …" he said, his voice trailing off as he remembered the fight he had with his brother 8 months ago.

"There's nothing in the room that could be hurt, Lucas, except for me. I'll stand right behind you while you're doing it, that way I won't be hurt!" Lucas said, a pleading smile on his face.

Lucas sighed "Fine, fine …"

Once again, he breathed out and lifted up his hands, summoning the power to call forth lightning. He was almost there, now he had to show it and-

'don't …' A voice said, startling Lucas.

Lucas immediately dropped the power, letting his arms drop to the floor.

"I … I only saw a little lightning … what was that? It's usually bigger!" Claus said, agitated.

"I'm … I'm sorry Claus but … something tells me I shouldn't." Lucas said, breathing heavily "I thought I heard some one …"

Then suddenly, without warning, a huge thunder crash came from outside. Claus literally jumped while Lucas held his hands over his ears.

"Woah … that was some boom, eh?" Claus said, "Good thing you stopped your Lightning thingie just in time."

Lucas blinked, awed that whatever stopped him had literally saved him: If he used the PK thunder now, it may have attracted lightning at his house. He was thankful whatever that was caught it in time.

The Door suddenly swung opened, Flint in the way. "Are you boys allright?"

Claus realized they were on the floor and grabbed Lucas's shoulders "Y-yeah! The thunder crash made Lucas fall out of his bed, a-and I went to check on him!"

Lucas nodded, getting the lie he was putting out "Y-yeah! I'm okay though, j-just sore."

Flint sighed in relief "Thank goodness. I was afraid a tree may have fallen in your room." He looked at the boys "Okay, back to bed you two."

"R-right!" They both said in unison. They quickly scurried off to bed in about 3 second flat.

Flint nodded "Good. 'Night boys."

"'Night dad." They both said before Flint closed the door.

Claus turned over in his bed "I'm actually starting to feel tired. 'Night Lucas." He said.

"Yeah …" he said silently, still in shock, "G'night …"

--

For some reason, Lucas couldn't sleep a wink. He would usually fall asleep almost right away, but right now, almost close to midnight, he couldn't even close his eyes. He was just too shocked to sleep.

What was it that stopped him from using his power?

Whatever it was, it sounded just like mom.

Mom …

Lucas felt his mind wondering away from his body as he thought about his mother. He could still remember what she looked like, and invisioned her right there in front of him. He could see everything in full detail: The eyes, the dress, her hair, her smile … all formed right in front of his eyes.

His mother, Hinawa.

She kneeled down to Lucas and hugged him. She then started to sing the same melody she always sang to him at night, the same once she had sung in the past. All of it felt real to Lucas, and he didn't want it to stop. If he could, he would have stayed here forever.

Then, just as suddenly as she appeared, darkness started to surround the two. As if a dark cloud came, Lucas couldn't see his mother, although he could feel her still hugging him. He wanted to embrace his mother tightly in hopes he would be protected from the darkness, but instead, he felt himself being pushed away from her. He didn't know if it was the darkness, or if it was Hinawa herself, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was reach out and hold on to his mother, no matter what.

"Lucas …" He heard her say "Lucas, run …"

"Where are you?!" Lucas yelled out.

"Forget about me, Lucas, please, just run!!"

Lucas didn't want to run, but he had to obey his mother. He ran as fast he could, as far as he could. He finally spotted a dim light among the darkness and reached for it. He prepared to touch the light …

Lucas gasped and sat up straight in his bed, breathing heavily. Cold sweat was running down his neck as he grabbed his head. Was he dreaming? No, no matter how vivid a dream could be, this one seemed too real. It had to be some sort of hallucination or …

A vision?

Lucas finally understood. What his body was going through, what his mind was going through, what he himself was going through. All this had a meaning to it.

Hinawa was alive. It had to be it.

Lucas jumped off his bed, ignoring his ladder completely, and landed hard on the floor. He hoped that his dad hadn't heard that, and his hopes were confirmed when he never came. He then got out a piece of parchment and a writing utensil from his desk and wrote on it. When he was done, he got out a small sac and packed his things in it: Some clothes, his hygiene needs, a book, all he needed for a journey ahead.

When he was finished, he shook his sleeping brother slightly.

"Claus … wake up, I need to tell you something."

Claus yawned and woke up. He stared at his brother with red eyes and blinked "Whut izzit?" he said, not even trying to hide his fatigue.

"I know it sounds crazy and stupid, but I'm going out." Lucas sighed and prepared for a big reaction "Mom's alive, and I'm gonna find her."

Claus's expression dramatically changed from one being tired to one who couldn't believe what he just heard. "Excuse me?!"

"Mom's alive. I didn't realize this before, but now I know. She's alive somewhere and she wants me to find her. I just had a vision-."

"You sure it wasn't a dream?

"I'm absolutely positive! Claus, I don't know what's going on with me, but Mom has something to do with it. She's alive out there, and she needs my help!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Claus whispered harshly "It's the middle of the freakin' NIGHT! If dad catches you, you'll be in big trouble!"

"That's why I'm leaving right now. Just … don't tell where I am going."

"Do you even KNOW where you're going?" Claus asked.

Lucas opened his mouth to say something, but nothing ever came out. Lucas sighed "Well … you got a point there."

Claus sighed "Lucas, let me go with you."

"What?"

Claus got out of bed. "If you're really serious, then I'm coming too. I don't want my brother to get in any sort of trouble."

Lucas smiled "Thanks Claus." He took off his pajama shirt "Now lets get dressed, we don't want to go out in our PJ's, right?"

Claus nodded "Lets hurry. It looks like it could be sun-up soon."

--

Flint never saw the two silhouettes leaving his house. As far as he knew, they were still in bed, dreaming. But as he woke up, something in his heart told him he was dead wrong. As the sun was slowly rising, he went down the hall and peered into the boy's room.

All he saw were scattered items of clothing and two empty beds.

Panicked, Flint went into their room, and searched the beds in hopes that they were only hiding. Nothing. Just blankets and pillows. He searched everywhere in their room: the closet, under the desk, under the bed, anything that could hold two teen-aged boys.

His eyes then spotted the parchment on the desk. Hesitantly, he grabbed it and opened it up, reading Lucas's hand writing …

"Dear dad,

I realize I've been doing strange things. My mind isn't all that normal either. I finally figured out that Mom is out there, Alive and well. I –,"

There was a note that looked like it was just added "and Claus (am) are going to find her. (I'll) We'll come back with her. By the time you read this, (I'll) We'll be long gone. Please don't try to stop (me) us. Goodbye, Father.

Lucas – and Claus."

Flint threw the parchment aside, grabbed his hat, and rushed out the door, determined to find his children no matter what.

"Please … I already lost them once, I don't want to lose them again …" He pleaded silently to himself.


	6. Polly

Meep … I don't particularly like this chapter --;; try to enjoy.

--

The evil looked with its 'eye' as it saw its plan being set into motion. Yes, soon, all will belong to it again. Satisfied, the evil smiled to itself … or at least, it could have if it had a form, let alone a mouth to smile with.

But what if things were running too smoothly, it wondered … in all possibility, when things run this smooth, there is bound to be a 'bump' somewhere. It wanted none of that. It wanted the delicate plan to run just so perfect, like it was doing right now. Never the less, he had to make sure it continued to run perfectly.

Calling forth energy from his myriad of powers, it had formed entities which resembled something close to humans, only their eye-sockets were empty, replaced with nothing but a dim, red glow, and had no noses. They were long and slim, their fingers webbed, and their hair was grey and tangled.

Yes … these entities, these 'children of the nightmare', they would serve as part of its plan.

Taking one of the Nightmare Child back, it spoke to the rest in a dark, gruff and crackling voice.

'Go, my children …' it said, 'Go and see to it there is nothing stopping me from taking what I own.'

The Nightmare Children bowed and turned. Again, if it had a mouth, it would have smiled, confident its plans would not go wrong.

Of course, still being paranoid, it had to at least keep watch. Using one last bit of its power, the entity of evil came close to the Nightmare Child it had taken earlier.

'You …' it said, 'You, I will assign you this job.'

If one had been around to hear it laugh, one would hear sheer nightmare and evil amongst the laughter …

--

Flint banged on the door of Duster's house, making a loud racket. It was amazing some one could sleep through this, no wonder Boney had a tough time getting to him.

"DUSTER! Open up!" Flint yelled at the door. Alas, there were no answers of any kind, not even a slight moan. Inpatient and somewhat infuriated, Flint finally kicked down the door right off its hinges. That finally woke Duster up.

"FLINT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Duster said, shocked.

Flint glared slightly at Duster "Get up. Lucas and Claus are missing."

"Again?" Duster moaned, "Geez, you have no control over your children … what are they doing now."

Flint showed Duster the parchment Lucas had wrote. When Duster was finished reading it, he sighed and rubbed his eyes "That boy is crazy."

"What's worse, he's taken Claus with him." Flint grumbled to himself. "When we find those two, they are in deep, deep trouble."

Duster got out of bed, "So why are you coming to me for help? I'm just a plain old thief."

"You actually went with my son all those months ago: You followed him as your leader. I was hoping you may know where he would go." Flint said silently.

"Well …" Duster said, "I might be overshooting it a bit here … but I would suspect they're not in town or in its areas around it. Have you checked the river?"

"Yes." Flint replied.

"The Forest?"

"Yes."

"The Farms?"

"Yes."

"Even the chicken coops?"

Flint looked at Duster awkwardly "Why would I …?"

Duster shook his hands "Er … never mind …"

Flint sighed. "I'm going to wake Kumatora up. She'll probably be of more use."

"Hey!" Duster Growled, "Don't you turn into my father! I'm coming with you!!"

Duster and Flint went to Kumatora's house. Unlike Duster, she was actually wide awake and answered the door quickly. After Flint told her what was going on and showed her the note, Kumatora leaned against the door frame and thought.

"Maybe Lucas was having one of his 'episodes' again … you know, where he goes out looking for something that just isn't there?" Kumatora said.

"I don't think he would've written the note if he was." Flint said, "It seemed like his own decision to do so …"

Kumatora looked sideways, worried. "Then where could they be?"

'Um … hello?' A brown dog, Boney, barked. He approached the three and sat down. 'If you haven't noticed, I am a dog who can track things.' He said, wagging his tail, 'I could be of some assistance.'

Kumatora looked at Flint. "He has a point there." She simply said.

Flint scratched the back of his head, the led Boney, Duster, and Kumatora to his home. After thoroughly catching the scent of the two, Boney pointed his nose down to the floor and followed the twisted scent trail. He went all over his house, all around, and even all through town. Boney then led them across the river and through the woods, and eventually started to climb up a hill.

Kumatora took a second to look back, and was taken by surprise. "Guys, look!!"

The group turned around, and saw that they were _miles_ away from town.

"The boys actually got this far …" Flint said silently to himself.

"And the trail keeps on going …" Boney said.

"How far do you think they went?" Duster asked.

Flint turned around and headed back home. "Boney, you stay here for a bit. Kumatora, Duster, start packing your bags."

"Why?" Kumatora asked.

"If they're on a journey, then we're on a journey too." Flint answered back.

--

Lucas woke up, yawning. He and his older twin brother, Claus, had spent the last four days traveling. Determined to keep in front of their father, they would only sleep at least four hours, and wake up just at the crack of dawn. They would then spend most of the day walking, only stopping for a very short amount of time to eat, rest, or use the bathroom. They had plenty of water, but their food rations were running short. If they didn't find a town soon, they would surely starve.

Lucas saw the sun coming over the horizon and sighed. As much as he wanted to sleep in, he didn't want his father catching up with them. He knew Boney would be able to track them easily, so they made care that they would be at least a day ahead of them. Lucas shook Claus to wake him up. "Claus, it's time to wake up."

Claus moaned and rolled over, determined not to get up. "Jus' … jus' five more minutes …"

"No, we need to get going now." Lucas said sternly. "We don't want dad catching up with us."

Claus finally sat up and yawned, his mouth wide. He then got up and put his blanket back in his pack. He then stared at Lucas, his eyes bloodshot, and his hair a mess.

Lucas got up and dusted himself off. He then made sure that neither he nor Claus was forgetting anything before walking off. "Let's go," he said, "Mom's waiting."

The sun rose higher and higher, and soon it would be a reasonable hour to really wake up. As tired as Claus was in the mornings, for some reason, he would be bounding with excitement and joy. Lucas, on the other hand, still felt fatigued. By now, they would have been walking for at least five hours.

"So …" Claus said, "If we keep heading north, we'll eventually run into 'something'."

"The 'something' better come soon, Claus. Frankly, I'm getting tired …"

"I hope there's a town up ahead. I wouldn't mind sleeping on a real bed." Claus said, dreaming.

"I wouldn't mind waking up very late, if I'm in a bed or not …" Lucas said, sighing.

Claus stared at Lucas "Hey, you wanna take a little break?"

Lucas fell to his knees, indicating that meant 'yes'. Claus then got a small loaf of bread out from his pack and gave a piece of it to Lucas, then put it back in.

Lucas stared at his brother, concerned "Are you going to have a piece?" He asked

"You need it more than I do: I can see how tired you are." Claus said, sitting back.

"But you'll go hungry!" Lucas said, trying to give the piece to Claus.

"You will too if you don't eat that."

Lucas sighed and ate the small piece he was given. He then sat back and sighed.

"Do you think this was a bad idea?" Lucas asked.

"If it is, it's your idea." Claus answered back.

"Hey, that's not nice!" Lucas yelled at Claus

Claus shrugged, "Mom use to say that an idea is never bad until you actually try it."

"And we're trying it right now …" Lucas said, sighing, "And still no sign of mom."

"What about your visions? Have you had any of them lately?" Claus asked.

Lucas shook his head sideways. "No, not since that night …"

Claus then brought his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms over them. "Hey … If mom is alive, then why didn't she come home yet?"

Lucas blinked, then looked at the sky "She … she could be lost."

"What would she be doing in the middle of nowhere anyway?" Claus asked.

Lucas sighed. "Claus, this _is_ a bad idea. I'm sorry I've put you through this …" He got up and picked up his sac. "Lets just head back. If we're lucky, we'll run into dad and-."

"HEEELLLLLLP!" A shrill voice yelled from across the meadow.

"Did you hear that?!" Lucas said, looking to the direction of the voice.

"How could I not?!" Claus replied back, "Some one is in trouble!!"

The two scurried across the field to find a girl, just about their age, running from a giant creature. The creature looked somewhat like a Deer, only its legs were made of scales and its head was in a thin, pin shape.

Lucas made no hesitation as he leaped into action. Calling forth his power, he let out a huge PK Thunder against the creature. In Shock, the creature turned and ran away, tail between its legs.

Claus yelled with joy and high-fived his brother, bouncing with excitement. "WOW! That was soooooo COOL! You just swooped in there and POW! ZAP! You taught that deer who's boss!"

Lucas blushed a bit, "Man, Claus, I only scared it away …"

"But I do admit," The girl piped up, "You were really brave."

The two boys faced the girl who smiled pleasantly. She wore an aged Pink dress with w pink hat to match. Her hair was Jet black, but in contrast, her eyes were a very, very light brown, almost red. She carried a Parasol at her side and had a black choker around her neck.

Claus was immediately infatuated.

The girl giggled. "My name is Polly. Thanks again for saving me."

Lucas Saw Claus's infatuation with her and decided to take advantage. He pushed his brother forward and smiled "He was the one that originally spotted you, thank him!"

"What?! But I-!"

"Thank you" Polly said, smiling once again "… uh … oh my, I never learned you names …"

"CLAUS." Claus yelled abruptly, Shocking both Polly and Lucas. "M-m-my name i-is Claus!"

"And I'm Lucas." Lucas said, trying to hide his amusement.

"Lucas, Claus …" Polly said, curtsying to them "Thank you both so much. I would like to repay you in some way, though …"

"Oh, you really don't have to!!" Claus said, nervous.

"But I insist!" Polly said, taking Claus's arm and dragging him. "You can come back to my cottage; it's not far from here!"

Lucas sighed in relief "We really could use a nice, warm meal by now."

"Then come on back!" Polly said, still dragging Claus, "I'll make you a couple of omelet's!"


	7. A New lead

Okay, I realize how un-actiony this chapter it. To make up for it, I'm gonna have the next chapter **FILLED** with action :D enjoy!

--

"I actually live in this Cottage alone," Polly explained to the two, "My dad disappeared about 5 years ago, and my mom is usually out on business trips. So because of that, I'm usually working outside on the farm. I guess that … _thing_ got attracted by the smell of food and started to chase me. "

"Gee … It must be hard to live all by yourself." Claus said as he sipped a bit of juice from the wooden cup he was given by Polly.

"It does get hard, but I can handle it. Mom does come home every now and then, but it's usually for a short while. And this farm, though tiny, it always gave me what I needed." Polly smiled brightly at the two "So I'm fine."

She served the two their omelets she had promised them earlier, and they both shoveled it down even before she could sit, "My, you two were hungry …"

"We haven't eaten all that much, actually …" Lucas said, his mouth filled with egg "Our rations were running out and -."

"Why would you have rations?" Polly asked.

"We're actually on a journey ourselves." Claus said, "My brother here thinks our mom may be alive and out there somewhere, so we were heading in one direction until we hit something."

"That … doesn't sound like a smart plan …" Polly said, slightly giggling.

"Well, it was the only plan we had." Lucas said, "I was actually about to give up … I'm still thinking about it …"

"Your mother …" Polly piped, "What does she look like?"

Lucas swallowed his omelet and looked at Polly "Well … she's very tall-."

"-And slim" Claus added.

"She has Golden eyes like I do …" Lucas continued

"And Reddish-brown hair." Claus said, "Sort of … like your eyes, Polly."

Lucas Snickered at Claus's comment, but was bumped by his elbow hard soon after.

"Actually …" Polly said, thinking "A couple of weeks ago, when my Mom and I went to Hometown for my birthday … I think I remember seeing a lady like that."

"R-Really?" Lucas said, excitedly "She IS alive!!"

"Calm down, Lucas." Claus said "We don't know if it's even her. It could be any lady."

"But like it or not, it may be your only lead." Polly said in a shy tone.

Claus sighed "She's right. Lucas, are you up to it?"

Lucas nodded excitedly "Of course I am! If anything, at least some one would recognize her …"

"I do have to warn you, though." Polly said, "It's usually a vacation spot: She may have been a tourist there."

Lucas got up and started to pack his things "It's a better lead than any …" He stated, "Which way is Hometown?"

Polly got up, shocked "Are you actually thinking of going there on foot?" She asked them.

"Uh … why?" Lucas asked.

Polly sighed "Hometown is at least two to three days on train alone. You'd be mad to go on foot."

"Are you saying there's a train station near by?"

Polly nodded "It was actually built just 7 months ago. Shortly after Hometown was made."

"Hometown was only made 7 months ago? How did it become a big tourist attraction so fast?" Claus asked, confused.

"They serve good food, of course!" Polly said, smiling. "I'll tell you what. I'll come with you to hometown and help you look for your mom."

"You'd really do that?" Claus said, excitedly.

"Of course. I would do anything for some one who saved my life." She said, winking.

Claus blushed hard and stuttered "Well I wasn't … it was Lucas … he did all the …"

"Claus feels the same way." Lucas said, smiling. "Thank you so much for joining us … and for giving us food."

"It's my pleasure." Polly said, simply smiling

--

Duster, Flint, Boney and Kumatora had been following Lucas's And Claus's scent trail, almost 3 days into their journey. Flint had noticed how far they went and couldn't believe it: even he himself wouldn't think of going this far.

Then suddenly, right out of the blue, Boney started to cough and scratch at his nose, as if something had been peppered into it. Concerned, Flint kneeled down to Boney, who was holding both paws on his nose. "What's wrong?"

'I … I don't know …' Boney said, struggling to talk 'All the sudden, it felt like something shot up my nose … I can't smell the scent trail anymore …'

Flint's heart sank. No scent trail meant no way of tracking down the boys. But what made Flint really worry … there was absolutely nothing in this empty, vast meadow that could have cause boney to suffer like this … was some one watching?

Duster came to Flints side, concerned "Actually … it seems like the boys are heading north all the time. It doesn't seem like they would suddenly change direction."

Kumatora coughed and raised her finger. "It just may be good to keep on going. Lucas hasn't given up, so neither will we."

'I guess I have no choice but to follow …' Boney said, dejectedly, 'We're too far from home, so I can't go back there by myself.'

Flint nodded and stood up. He adjusted his hat slightly then looked forward "We need to keep on going."

"That's the stuff, Flint!" Duster said, encouragingly.

The four set off again, hoping against all hope that somehow, someway, they'll catch up with Flint.

--

Polly bought the three tickets for her, Claus and Lucas, and they immediately boarded the train. Once it set off, Lucas fell quickly asleep, catching out on missed rest.

This gave some time for Claus to talk to Polly, and for once, not have Lucas involved.

"So … Uh … Polly …" Claus said, trying to pick up a conversation, "You … lived at that cottage all your life?"

"Not all my life, actually …" She said, smiling, "That Cottage was only built at least 6 months ago …"

"You … lived in another cottage once?" Claus said.

"Yeah, but that one got burned down …" Polly said, sighing

"I'm sorry …" Claus said

"No, it's quite alright, really. That one wasn't worth much any way: this one is a lot nicer than my old one."

Claus looked out the window "There's … something fishy going on …"

"What is it?" Polly said, tilting her head.

"3 months ago, I woke up from a coma I was apparently in for four years. I keep hearing things that happened 8 months ago, never before or after … It's like … something happened to the world that I just missed out on."

"I … guess you could say a miracle of sorts happen … But I'm not quite sure what you're talking about." She said.

Claus sighed "No, it's alright. I wouldn't expect you to answer me anything, anyway."

Polly shrugged "You sound like you weren't very informed of what happened the last four years."

"No one would answer me when I asked." Claus said, "I know they're hiding something from me, I … just can't get them to say it."

"Maybe they're only hiding the truth to protect you, to keep you happy …" Polly said in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, well … I won't be completely satisfied until I know the truth." Claus said, staring out the window.

"I'm sure you'll find out in time, Claus." Polly said, smiling, "Just not now, people feel like you aren't ready."

Claus said nothing in return, but instead sighed. He looked at all the hills and trees that past, following them with his eye, until he, two, fell asleep.

Polly smiled to herself, remarking how cute the boys were when they slept.


	8. A notsorelaxing train ride

Well, I don't think it has enough action to quell my hunger, but it does have plenty to make you go _"Aaaaaawwww"_ 8D enjoy ...

--

Lucas and Claus weren't as lucky as Kumatora, Duster, Flint and Boney: They found a farmer who straight away pointed them to the Train station: It wasn't exactly a town, but it was a nice spot to rest. At least it had people populating the station.

When the four got there, Boney and Kumatora set off to look for food while Duster and Flint sat on a bench.

"So now what's the plan of action? We've gone so far north that I think we'll hit the ocean in a few days."

Flint sighed, and shook his head "I just don't know, Duster. It seemed like the boys disappeared without a trace. Without their scent, we've no way of tracking them."

Duster faced Flint, trying to look happy "Hey, cheer up, Pal!" Duster said in an upward tone, "We haven't lost yet!"

Flint looked to the evening sky and let his eyes wonder. Lucas was sure determined to find his mother … if she's still alive, that is. He couldn't believe that it already had been 5 days since they left from their town, and already they had covered a lot of ground. How ahead would Lucas and Claus be?

"DUSTER! FLINT!" Kumatora yelled across the platform.

The two boys got up and faced the princess. Kumatora waited a couple of seconds before speaking to catch her breath. "I just talked to the teller … He saw Lucas and Claus!"

"What?!" Flint yelled, getting closer to Kumatora "They were here?!"

Kumatora nodded "Apparently, they and another girl bought tickets for a place called 'Hometown', a couple of days away from train!"

Flint's heart was raised a few levels: The boys were at least okay, _AND _they already made a new friend. But it still didn't stop the fact that they were still missing.

Flint nodded "We'll need to buy tickets for Hometown." He said matter-of-factly.

"On the contrary, Flint," Kumatora said, holding out three tickets, "I have the tickets. Pets ride for free too!"

'That's good news for me.' Boney said happily.

"The teller said the next train to hometown will arrive shortly. Soon we'll be back on Lucas's and Claus's trail again."

Flint smiled. Kumatora was right, they may have not caught up with the two, but at least they knew where they were going again.

"We'll have them home before they know it." Flint said, looking at the horizon.

--

'Lucas …'

Lucas turned. He knew that some one was calling him; he just couldn't see the person that voice belonged to. But he knew who it was.

'Mom?' Lucas said, looking around.

'Lucas … please, forget about me …'

'Mom, I'm coming to get you. We'll find you soon, we will!'

'No … you must forget about me; you have a greater importance right now …'

'What?' Lucas said, still searching around for his mother, 'what do you mean?'

'Just forget about me Lucas …' Her voice said, trailing off.

'Mom! Wait, where are you?!' Lucas said, running around, desperately looking for her.

'Forget … me … the evil … it is coming …' She said, right before the darkness started to surround Lucas.

Lucas started running in one direction, hoping to find his mother 'Mom … please! Where are you?!'

'the evil … the evil …' She repeated.

'MOM!! MOM, DON'T LEAVE ME!!'

--

Polly shook Lucas slightly, concerned. Lucas stirred and stared right at Polly, who had tears in her eyes.

"Lucas? Are you alright?" Polly asked, concerned.

"I … I guess so …" Lucas said, shaking his head.

"You looked like you were having some seizure: you kept staring off into space with empty eyes, mumbling something about your mother." Polly whispered.

That hit Lucas hard: He was having a vision after all. And if he was right, that meant his mother was in danger.

Lucas looked back at Polly, who was crying silently "Hey, wh-what's wrong?"

Polly sniffed, "Well … I went up to go use the ladies' room and I … I saw a monster!"

Lucas got up and stared at Polly, confused. "What?"

"I-it was a giant … _thing_ … It looked almost human but … it just _wasn't _…"

Lucas looked into the isle of the cart to see that every passenger was sleeping. Could it be that Polly was just dreaming?

Never the less, Lucas couldn't take any chances. He shook Claus awake, and then ventured out into the isle.

"H-he was right in the room …" Polly said, whispering, "I was so terrified."

Claus yawned "Maybe it was just a really ugly lady." He said, unfazed.

"What ever it is, I just want to make sure we can sleep peacefully." Lucas said, venturing to the end of the hall where the rest rooms were.

Polly stayed back the further they got to the rest rooms. Noticing Polly's fear, Claus set her down on a couple of empty seats, "Just hide here, me and Lucas will take care of everything."

Polly nodded "B-be careful …"

Claus nodded the joined his brother again. Just to make sure, they looked into the men's room and saw there was no sort of life in there. Then they both faced the Ladies' room.

"… So … you gonna open it?" Claus said.

"What, no way! You do it!!" Lucas replied

"No way! That's the girl's bathroom, I can't look in there!" Cluas said, backing away from it, "It's probably filled with cooties!"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "There is no such thing as 'cooties', Claus. You're 14 years old now, get with it."

"Then you open it, if you're so 'grown-up'." Claus spat at him

"You're the older brother, you do it!"

But just as the boys started to fight, the Rest room door swung open, a devilish-looking person in its path. The boys both screamed as the haunting figure slowly closed his arms around the two boys. They thought that their screams would awaken the passengers, but they were dead wrong. They, too, were actually one of the demon-children that stood in the ladies bathroom. Lucas hid under a couple of seats, covering his head.

"LUCAS! GET OUT HERE!" Claus yelled, trying to dodge the demons. No answer came, so he was left to fend for himself.

Claus felt helpless, confused, and even scared. What was more frightening, the lights were out and he was becoming stressed that the room he had around him became smaller and smaller. He hyperventilated, not knowing what to do. Finally, he became so frightened, he awakened a power from deep within his body …

A giant lightning attack shocked the group of demons around him, and they all vanished into dust. The passenger cart was empty, save for Lucas and Polly, who peered out from the chairs to see what happened.

Claus fell to his knees, looking at his hands. "What … what was that …?"

Lucas didn't know whether to answer or not, but he knew this meant one thing: The powers that Claus had all those years ago were finally coming back to him … which meant …

"Claus? Are you alright?" Polly said, scared as she rushed for Claus.

"I … I'm fine … really …" Claus said, at a loss for words.

Lucas hesitantly approached Claus, not knowing what to say. "C-claus … I'm sorry I wasn't of much use … I …"

"You must be rubbing off on me, bro." Claus said, snickering "I never knew I could use that power too!"

"Y-yeah …" Lucas said, nervously. It seemed like Claus still didn't remember what had happened long ago, which is the way he wanted it. "But Claus, remember: That is a VERY dangerous power."

"But it saved us, right?" Claus said.

"He has a point there, Lucas." Polly piped up.

"Well … whatever." Lucas said, going back to his seat.

Polly faced Claus and smiled "You were really brave, Claus. And amazing too, using that power of yours."

"I … I just learned I could use it." Claus said, blushing a bit.

Polly faced outside, noticing it was close to dawn "We'll be arriving at Hometown soon, Claus." She said, "And soon, maybe soon, we'll see your mother."

"Or maybe a lead to her." Claus said. "H-hey … while we're up, m-maybe we can grab a little breakfast?"

Polly giggled a bit then smiled "I would love some breakfast." She said, smiling.

"G-good! Because I really could use a nice omelet by now …" Claus said, smiling.

--

Duster woke up, the sun barely over the hills. He wondered why he would wake up at such an early hour, but he didn't question about that any further … maybe it would be best to go back to …

He noticed he felt a hard … something on his shoulder. Curious, Duster looked over to see Kumatora resting on his shoulder, sleeping. He felt himself blush as he saw this, feeling a bit happy but at the same time, foolish. He admitted to himself, he had always felt a little … happy when Kumatora was around, but her presence made him feel a bit uneasy and nervous: he just thought it was because Kumatora was always lively, and you never knew what will come out of her. But she was asleep, and still he felt a bit lightheaded. Could it be that he …?

Duster heard Flint stirring, and closed his eyes again. The last thing he wanted was a snappy remark about the two in their current position. He heard Flint get up and walk away, sighing in relief. But he still had no idea what to do about Kumatora on his shoulder; he was stuck in that position until she woke up.

Just as if on cue, she yawned and stretched her arms. Duster closed his eyes again, making sure that Kumatora wouldn't know he was awake the whole time. Kumatora then slightly shook Duster until he opened his eyes. "Huh, that was the quickest I've waken you, Duster."

"Well, uh …" he said, stumbling for words. "I guess I have trouble sleeping on a moving train."

"Ugh, tell me about it" Kumatora said, getting up, "I couldn't sleep peacefully with the constant motion: it made me feel sick …"

Duster stretched and sighed, then looked out the window "We're still far away from Hometown, huh?"

"We'll get there soon, Duster, don't worry."

"What if we missed Lucas and Claus already? What if they're already there and already had moved on?" Duster asked.

"Then we'll just get on the road again, following them still. It's better than giving up." Kumatora said, still stretching.

"You're right" he said, getting up. "And at least they've gotten themselves a little girlfriend."

Kumatora chuckled a bit before sitting down again, "I think it's a bit cute."

Duster got up and stretched "Hey, I'm hungry, do you want a bite to eat?"

Kumatoa looked sideways, then faced Duster "Where's Flint?"

"Mm … probably just walking around the train a bit. We'll see him again, don't worry." Duster answered

"So … just the two of us?"

"If you don't count Boney" Duster said, motioning to the sleeping brown dog on the seat.

"He'll be alright here …" Kumatora said, "Plus I don't think the diner cart will allow pets in."

"So it will be just the two of us …" Duster said, laughing nervously.

"Yeah …" She said, leading Duster out of the cart, "Just the two of us."


	9. ZOMBIE ATTACK!

Okay. Two notes.

1. I admit I am a HUGE KumatoraXDuster fan as you will see in this chapter.

2. I'm thinking about changing the rating after this

3. I lied. There were really three notes.

--

Lucas, Claus and Polly finally had reached their destination. Other than the "zombie attack" (As Claus came to name it) the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. When they got off the train, though, Hometown wasn't at all like they suspected: There were stalls filled with food and games and entertainments galore. It was as if they had stepped into a carnival. Polly saw the two Boys' amazement and smiled.

"We came here for my birthday, as I told you two before." She said "I should have mentioned their constant 'party' they have going on here. You should see their fire works."

Claus was about to run off to a fried dough booth and Lucas grabbed him collar. "Claus, remember, we're here to find Mom, not goof around."

"But this place has everything! Look at it, I've never even seen as street fair before." Claus said, amazed.

"Remember that we have little money with us." Lucas said with a heavy sigh, "I don't want you to go about spending everything we have."

Polly chuckled, "Don't worry, I have some money with me … And besides, after a few days of travel, it would be nice to treat ourselves to a little fun, right?"

"Wrong." Lucas said, "We're trying to Outrun our dad, remember?"

"Aw, Come on Lucas … Just a few hours? Dad's probably still on foot looking for us, we have time!" Claus said, pouting

Lucas bit his lower lip, pondering "Wellll …."

"It'll only be for a few Hourse, Lucas." Polly said, "And maybe you'll find your mother while you're all playing!"

Lucas sighed "Fine, we can search around. But we still have to keep an Eye out for mom: If we don't see her by sunset, we set off again."

Claus Yelped in excitement and started Dragging Polly away, leaving Lucas behind. He sighed and smiled. A few hours of innocent play can't hurt them, right?

--

Flint Had made his way to the back of the train. He didn't know why, it just seemed to fit him at the time. He was really in no mood to talk to either Kumatora or Duster, nor was he in the mood to watch over his dog Boney. He sighed and adjusted his hat, watching the passing scenery.

Flint then wondered for a moment what the two "love birds" were doing right now. He couldn't help but admit that the scene he saw this morning was … touching, something he hadn't seen since his youth when he first fell in love with Hinawa …

Hinawa …

"How are you doing on the other side?" Flint asked to himself, but aimed it towards his dead wife, "Or are you really alive like my boy suspects you to be?"

There was no answer, just the sound of train tracks passing by.

"You're in Lucas's dreams every night … I wonder if he still dreams about you?"

Again, no answer.

"Are you somehow influencing Lucas to do this …?"

Flint raised his head, thinking he may have heard a 'yes' among the wind rushing past his ear. Flint sighed again, and turned around to make his way back inside.

"I still love our children, Hinawa …" Flint said, "If you have the power, then please … watch over them, make sure they're all right …"

Flint opened the Cart's door and went inside, closing it behind him.

--

Duster and Kumatora had gotten breakfast and went back to their original seats. An awkward silence fell amongst them as they returned: Flint wasn't back yet and Boney decided to get up on his paws and take a short walk. They were still alone, still just the two of them.

Duster took a quick glance at Kumatora, who's head was resting on her hand, her elbow leaning against the window frame. The sun was shining on her feature of her face, making her a bit more attractive then before. Captured by her detailed beauty, Duster lost control of his mind, and worst of all, his mouth.

"Gosh, you're pretty today."

Duster bit his tongue hard, wishing he had never said that.

Kumatora took her hand off the window frame and looked at Duster. "What was that?"

"UUH … I meant … uh … OH LOOK AT THE SUNRISE!" Duster yelled uncontrollably, trying to direct the conversation elsewhere.

"Uh … yeah … that's some sunrise …" Kumatora said, clearly not interested.

The conversation ended there, and while Duster was very happy it did before he did anything else stupid, he was becoming more unsettled with another heavy silence filling the atmosphere.

"Hey Duster?" Kumatora said, breaking the silence once again.

"Y-yeah?" Duster said, nervously.

"What are you thinking about doing … y'know, when all this is over?"

Duster thought for a moment, then shrugged "Not sure. To tell you the truth, I haven't thought much about my future."

Kumatora Faced Duster. "You mean you never thought about what you really wanted to do? What you would do with your life, what dreams you want to fufill, if you'll ever find love?"

Duster twitched a bit at the last question, but shook his head all the same. "No … I haven't thought about any of that … But what about you?"

"Huh?"

"What are your plans?" Duster asked.

Kumatora sighed, "Actually, I haven't thought about it much either … I mean, sure, I'd like to do something that made me happy, live in a big house, maybe have a family … but …"

Duster chuckled, "We're just not the planning type, are we …?"

"I … guess not ..." Kumatora said, smiling a bit.

WHAM! Right out of the blue, the Train had stopped, sending Duster Plunging forward out of his seat … and right into the arms of Kumatora, just inches away from her face. Both of them blushed hard, and immediately got back to their original positions on their seats, bewildered.

Flint came running down the isle, looking just as surprised as all the other people. His confusion was replaced with a hint of skepticism, "Why are you both red?"

"NO REASON!" They both yelled in unison, trying to avoid the truth.

Flint shook his head (He knew well what was going on, but he had no time to poke at it), "I'm going to go to the engineer and see what happened."

"L-Let me come with you!" Duster said getting up and following Duster down the isle.

As Duster and Flint walked to the front of the train to try to get down to business as see what's going on. But as they entered the Engine room, they were stuck with a horrific surprise.

Two engineers, both down on the ground, their lips blue and their eyes glossy. Duster kneeled down to one and pressed his fingers against his neck.

"No pulse …" Duster said silently.

"Nothing on this one either …" Flint said, checking the other body.

"They look like they died of strangulation …"

"But there are no marks on their necks … and their bodies are cold …"

Duster shook his head "They couldn't have died from freezing … it's way too hot in this room …"

"Then … what could have-."

Duster yelped as they both heard a horrifying scream from behind them. The sound came from some one who looked like the two engineers, but only his eyes were sunken in and his face pale and grey. Both Flint and Duster barred up for a battle.

It was the stranger's first move as he swung at Duster with his arm. An easy swing and a miss, Duster had jumped out of the way in time. Duster was getting ready to counter when he felt something grab his ankle. He looked down to see it was one of the Engineers, looking at him with the same sunken eyes as the other person.

Duster gave out a yelp as he managed to kick away engineer, literally ripping his hand off in the process. Duster wanted to vomit at the sight of this, but he had no time as the other Engineer and the stranger were ganging up on Flint.

Flint knew how to defend himself though. He had found a crowbar and used it against the two Zombies that were attacking him. Duster felt hopeless though, forgetting to bring all his tools along … the scary mask, the wall staples, and the rope snake … he just had to make use of his arms and legs.

Mustering all the strength he can, Duster sent a giant kick towards the Engineer he was fighting and sent a second one right at the strangers head, lopping his head off. Duster recoiled at the sound of bone breaking, wishing he knew what the heck was going on. Just as the stranger was downed by Flint, they were met with more surprises as they peered down the hall, seeing more of the dead-walking.

Duster gulped "Okay, this is more of a fight than I expected …"

Flint hid on the side of the door, waiting for the next barrage of dead people "Well, Duster, this is starting to look like death wish …"

WOOSH! Fire started to fill the isle, the dead corpses burning right after. Out from the Fire came Kumatora, looking angry and ready to fight.

Duster smiled "Kumatora, you saved our butts!"

"Yeah, well, there's more coming. You guys better get behind me." Kumatora said, getting into the engineer room.

Flint and Duster did as she commanded. Kumatora put her fists together and prepared for the next sweep of zombies. When they came into view, one by one, the corpses turned to dust. Three more sweeps, and finally the attack was over. Kumatora fell to her knees, panting.

"What the heck was that all about?!" Kumatora yelled between breaths.

"An attack … against us." Flint said, "Have you seen Boney?"

Kumatora blinked as Duster helped her up, "He … he was right behind me …"

The trio heard a bark from outside, a relief to their hearts. Boney was outside circling around something. The three knew Boney wanted to show them something, so they followed him outside to behold an amazing sight.

The whole entire train was disintegrating right before their eyes. Rust started to cover the carts until the walls broke, the wheels started to turn black, and the tracks were becoming rotten and moldy. It was as if the train was aging right before their eyes.

"What … what's going on?" Kumatora asked, amazed.

"I … I think it was a trap … an illusion to get us cornered." Duster replied.

"But now what do we do?" Kumatora said, still astonished.

"The train may be going, but the tracks are still here. Look." He pointed to the rotting rail-road tracks, "We'll follow them to Hometown."

"It's not much of a plan …" Duster said, "But we have no choice but to do it …"

"It's just …" Kumatora croaked, Flint and Duster looking at her, "If this was an attack on us, and if the train turned out to be an illusion … I just can't help but wonder about the boys …"

Flint's heart sank again, realizing this.

"If this was an illusion … then what else could be fake?" Duster asked himself, stunned.

Flint started walking down the tracks. "We have no choice but to keep on going. We'll find out the answer to that question soon."

--

She had been following the two young boys and the girl for a while. She had been watching them play games and eat food. She had watched them have fun, not realizing the real danger that was about to unfold.

No, she told herself, let them have their fun. These children deserve a moment of peace, seeing what's up ahead.

The woman pulled her hood over her head and wondered away. She would meet them eventually, but not now … now was their moment.

She took one last glance at the blonde haired boy before wondering away again. That poor child, he has enough to deal with … but to put this on his shoulders?

She was afraid that he would never be able to live after this …


	10. The mind reader

No notes, JUST PARTIES!!

--

"That's ten for ten!" Polly yelled excitedly as Claus won another game of 'knock-the-bottle-down" (For lack of better names). By now, the children had won pendants, food, and a giant stuffed bear (That poor Lucas was carrying for Polly). They had dined out on many shops and stalls that they were starting to feel sick.

After several hours of Play, the three finally sat down and rested, waiting for their energy to come back.

"I've never had THIS much fun … not even when my mom took me here …" Polly said happily.

"We never actually had street fairs like this before" Lucas said, stretching his sore back, "I've never experienced this much fun either."

"Well? What shall we do next?" Claus said, ready for another round.

"Claus, it's almost sunset, and I'm tired. I say we need to get into a hotel and rest, then start off again early tomorrow morning." Lucas said sternly.

"Aww, you're no fun." Claus said grumpily.

"I used all the fun I had out on that street fair …" Lucas said under his breath.

"Okay then, mister grumpy pants. How about you choose something to do? Then we'll check into a hotel and rest. Deal?"

Lucas sighed. He'd rather be resting in a bed by now, but he could tell Claus wanted to do something. Well, if he did, Lucas will make sure he regretted him ever giving him that choice.

"Alright then. Follow me. And YOU'RE Carrying the teddy bear." Lucas said, giving the stuffed bear to Claus.

A few minutes passed by until Lucas spotted something that Claus will not like: A fortune telling place. Perfect.

"This is the place you want to go to?" Claus asked, skeptically.

"Oi, who knows, we may get a laugh out of it." Lucas said. "Come on! Lets go!!"

The three peered inside, not knowing what to expect. As soon as they entered, they were surrounded by smells of different herbs and potions. They saw a multitude of weird artifacts, some that looked really old, and some they didn't even want to know what it was.

"H-hello?" Lucas called, "Is anyone home?"

"Take your seats, young ones." A voice called back to them. "I Shall be with you shortly …"

The three did as they commanded and sat down on three cushions surrounded a purple-hued crystal ball. Shortly after, the cloak opened and revealed a cloaked figure behind the curtain.

It was a very tall and lean woman, wearing a purple and lilac gown, covered mostly by a cloak and hood. Lucas could see she had vine tattoos climbing up her arm, and on her hands were several jeweled rings and bracelets. He then peered at her face and saw that she had some tattoos on her face too: two sideways crescent moons on her cheeks and one more straight line on her forehead. She stared at the children with her deep violet eyes and smiled.

"Welcome, children …" She said deeply, "And what fates could I reveal to you today?"

"Well …" Lucas said, glancing at the other two to see if they had any idea what to do. When neither one gave him a hint, he turned back to the woman and blinked, "Uh … maybe our futures?"

The woman had a serious face, looking at the children, "You two are still so young, and yet you want to know your futures …"

The children all nodded in unison.

The Woman lifted down her hood revealing that she had deep violet hair. She looked at Lucas and nodded. "If you insist."

Lucas tilted his head. "How are you going to do this … Miss …?"

"Kana." The woman said, "You can call me Kana."

"Kana." Lucas said, "How do you read futures?"

Kana got close to Lucas and pressed her head against Lucas's heart, making him feel uneasy.

"Your mind is a bit … cloudy." Kana said softly.

"'Scuse me?" Lucas asked.

"It … it's uncertain but … I can see … darkness."

Lucas gulped "D-darkness?"

"You're being led by someone …"

Lucas blinked "My … mom?"

"I … don't know … she wants you to go to … to go to the underground …"

Lucas tilted his head again, "The Underground?"

"Where you faced … the evil tyrant …"

Lucas felt his heart drop. He knew what she was talking about. Did he actually have to go back there, where he had faced King P and his brother? Doing so may mean telling the truth to Claus.

"Excuse me, Miss Kana?" Claus said, "But you are making NO sense."

Kana glared at Claus, then pressed her head against Claus's heart. She then immediately recoiled as if Claus was on fire. "You're … there's something about you, young one …"

Claus looked at her, thinking she was crazy. "What do you mean …?"

"You're … you're supposed to be dead."

Claus Stepped back from her, afraid, "WOAH, okay lady, you're freaking me out!!"

Kana then eyed Polly, looking very fearful, "And you …!"

Lucas saw the situation was beginning to become tense and grabbed Claus and Polly. They all ran out of the building and ran far, far away.

Kana leaned against the doorway, panting. She saw that there were something odd about the three: each one of them had some sort of fate among them that she never had seen before. She could see in Lucas's future that he had a great darkness ahead of him …

And the other two …

One of them had part of the darkness with them …

Or it could even be Lucas holding the evil …

She shook her head, not knowing what to do.

She saw the world being enveloped by darkness … and everyone was ignorant towards it existence

\\\\

Flint, Duster, Kumatora and Boney all walked along the tracks, silent and tired. Duster wanted to pick up a conversation, but his mouth was glued shut, he couldn't even say a word.

He looked at Kumatora again and sighed: She was avoiding him ever since the 'accident' happened. Duster didn't know what to say, whether he should apologize or joke about it. Without think, Duster bowed his head and sighed.

"I'm sorry." He said towards Kumatora.

"For what?" The princess asked.

"For … uh … what happened earlier."

"That … that's okay." Kuamtora said, "It was an accident."

Duster smiled a bit, happy that some talking finally happened, "Heh, yeah …"

"Didn't you say I was pretty earlier?"

Duster bit his lip … so she WAS listening after all.

"Uh …" He muttered, fumbling for words.

"Because I forgot to say thank you." Kumatora said, chuckling.

"Uh … you're welcome!" Duster said, smiling.

Kumatora smiled and looked at Flint, who had stopped.

"We rest here tonight …" Flint said flatly.

Duster and Kumatora Stopped and looked at each other in confusion.

"Did you hear me?" Flint said, a hint of anger under his voice. "We are resting here."

"Okay, okay! We're resting here!!" Duster said nervously.

Kumatora approached Flint. "Flint? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'M FEELING FINE!!" Flint yelled at Kumatora, glaring at her.

Both Kumatora and Duster were taken by surprise at this outburst. Flint turned around and walked off a distance away from Kumatora and Duster.

"What … what was that?" Kumatora said, stunned.

Duster coughed. "We just need to give him some space, a lot has happened today …"

Kumatora looked down and sighed, "If you say so …"

The two blink and looked at each other, realizing they were on their own again.

"Uh … so … now what …?" Duster asked, blushing a bit.

"Uh … well … how about we … uh … start cooking dinner?"

"Alright, I'll just-." Duster dropped his sack, spilling his items all over the place. Both he and Kumatora started scrambling to pick up the items until there was one item left. Both Kumatora and Duster reached for it, touching each other hands in the process.

Duster and Kumatora stared at each other, blushing. Duster actually cracked a smile, making Kumatora laugh bit. They both stood up, laughing softly still, trying to avoid each other gaze.

"Uh … here …" Kumatora said, giving Duster the can of soup they were grabbing.

"Thanks …" Duster said, grabbing the can of soup, "Well, we could have this for dinner tonight."

"I'll prepare the fire."

"And I'll do the cooking." Duster said.

Kumatora walked off. Duster couldn't help but stare at her while she did, thinking about the day earlier. He thought of how he saw Kumatora resting on his shoulder, how she looked beautiful in the sunlight, how he actually almost kissed her on accident …

He loved her. It was as simple as that.


	11. Losing faith

THIS CHAPTER IS FOR ALL MY FRIENDS RETURNING TO SCHOOL. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

--

Lucas, Claus and Polly had run as far as the other side of town before deeming it safe from "That weirdo freaky lady" (As Claus came to name her). Before long, the three were exhausted and decided finally to rest for the night. Polly had spotted a hotel with free hot springs inside, and without any argument, they checked in.

"Wow …" Claus said, sinking into the small pool of hot water, "I've forgotten what a hot spring felt like …"

"This is the best thing since we started this journey." Lucas said, rubbing his face with a washcloth.

Claus looked over at Lucas and smiled, "Well, maybe to you."

"Oh yeah. _Polly_, right?" Lucas said, a sly smile on his face.

"Er … I meant … well …" Claus said, biting his lip.

"Oh come on, Claus, you're my brother. I've seen you fall head-over-heels for girls before, this time it's no different." Lucas laughed.

"But … I think it is." Claus said softly, looking into the water as he did.

Lucas put down his washcloth and stepped towards his brother. "Do you really _like_ her that much?"

"I _LIKE_-like her, Lucas." Claus said, blushing a bit, "She's cute and nice, and …"

"Okay, Okay, I get it …" Lucas said, trying to stop his brother.

An awkward silence fell amongst them. Lucas's mind wondered back to what the mind-reader said. She said that they had to go back to the place where they fought King P. Lucas didn't know weather to trust her or not, but she seemed pretty clear. And somehow, just somehow, She knew Claus was supposed to be dead.

"Hey, uh, Claus?" Lucas piped.

"Yeah?" Claus said.

"Do you believe what Kana said? You know, about you being … dead …?"

Claus breathed between his lips hard and laughed, "Heck no. I think she was being crazy."

"Uh … heh … yeah … crazy … heh …" Lucas said silently.

"But … she did seem pretty serious …" Claus said, shaking his head, "But whatever. What we need to do now is plan our next action."

"I …" Lucas gulped, "I know where Kana wanted us to go …"

Claus looked at him and blinked. "What do you mean?"

Lucas grabbed his legs and hugged them close to his chest, "I … I need to tell you … something when we get there."

"What?" Claus asked.

"It's … a lot of things, I don't want to tell you until we get there …"

Claus blink again, then nodded, "Well, alright."

"It's just … Claus?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll always be brothers, right?"

"Right."

"And we'll always be together, right?"

"No matter what."

"Good …" Lucas said, shaking his brother's hand.

--

Nightfall came and went for Kumatora, Duster, Flint and Boney. They were getting up and moving on faster than they think. Flint had remained silent, although normal, was getting everyone unsettled in the travling mood.

Duster braved talking to the silent one, "So … how much longer until we get there?"

"Probably 2 days if we keep walking." Flint said darkly.

"Um … okay …" Duster said, silencing himself.

"A-and if the kids aren't there?" Kumatora said, bracing herself for Flint's wrath.

But instead of snapping at Kumatora like he did last night, he stopped and sighed. "I … I don't know …"

Duster approached Flint and touched his shoulder, "We can't give up, Flint. So we hit a snag, we can still catch up to them."

Flint shook his head, "No … as long as Lucas has this foolish idea his mother is alive then … I don't think we'll ever catch up."

"What …?" Duster asked, stunned that he would say that.

"Lucas will just keep on traveling until he finds something he wants … but in this case … I don't think he'll find anything at all …" Flint said, staring down.

"So are you saying you're pretty sure Lucas is after nothing?!" Duster asked, irritated.

"Yes …" Flint simply said

Flint felt a searing and throbbing pain come on his right cheek. Before he knew it, he was down on his back, staring up at a very angry Duster, his fist clenched.

"Don't you **DARE** say that about your own son!!" Duster yelled at Flint, clearly angry, "Lucas may not be a normal boy but I always had faith he knew what he was doing, and I never lost that faith, not even to this day!!"

Flint just stared at Duster, who came at him and lifted him up by his shirt with surprising strength.

"If Lucas says his mother is alive, then I have no reason to doubt him!" Duster yelled at Flint, "And you shouldn't doubt him either!"

"Duster! Stop!!" Kumatora's voice rang over Duster's head. Duster sighed and put down Flint, who just stood there amazed. But as surprised as he was, Duster was right: He should never lose faith in his son …

"I-I'm sorry …" Duster said, facing away from Flint, "I just got a bit emotional there …"

"A bit …?" Flint said, rubbing his cheek. "You have a hard punch there …"

Duster stared at Flint. Laughing a bit, he rubbed the back of his head, not knowing what to say.

"Besides, you're right Duster … I was losing faith when I shouldn't have …" Flint said, shaking Duster's hand.

"Well, we all do that from time to time …" Duster said, chuckling, "But the best thing we could do is keep moving."

"I agree." Flint said, smiling. "We'll run into Lucas and Claus eventually."

"As long as we keep fait." Duster said, moving.

--

Kana looked behind her, seeing how far she had gotten from Hometown. She hasn't lived there for long: Just about 3 months. She had moved there because she saw a wave of disturbance over the citizens' head. She knew there was something wrong amidst the happiness surrounding the town, and she saw it clearly.

The children had already left by the time she got to the hotel. She wished she could have gone with them, but fates told her otherwise: there were other people she needed to be with …

Flint …

Duster …

Kumatora …

Boney …

Those words showed up in her mind over and over again. The fates told her she needed to be with them rather than with the children. She never questioned the fates. She just went along with everything they told her, no matter how much she objected towards them.

"Maybe …" Kana said to herself, "If things do go wrong, I could possibly … defy the fates … for the sake of the children."

She looked back once again at Hometown, then lifted her hood and walked away


	12. Posession

OH GAWD I AM TIRED

--

'Mom … we're coming …' Lucas called out, trying to find his mother.

'I know, son …' Hinawa's voice rang from behind Lucas.

Lucas turned to see his mother smiling pleasantly at him. Ecstatic, Lucas hugged his motner tightly, not wanting to let go.

'Mom …' Lucas said, tears coming in his eyes, 'Everything will be alright, I finally know where to find you …'

'I'll be waiting for you …' Hinawa said, her voice becoming distorted, 'We will ALL be waiting for you …'

Lucas looked at his mother, confused, 'Who's we …?'

Hinawa's eyes started burning red, her mouth twisting into a crooked smile. '_We've all been waiting for you, Lucas …_'

Hinawa pushed Lucas away and grabbed her head. Lucas didn't know weather to approach her or run away, he just stood there, looking at his mother, whimpering in pain.

'Mom …?' Lucas said, reaching a hand out for her, 'Mom, what's wrong …?'

'The evil Lucas … stop the evil … before it consumes you too …' Hinawa said softly …

Lucas shook his head, 'I don't understand, mom, what you mean "The evil"?'

Hinawa let out a blood curdling scream and reached out for Lucas, 'Stop the evil … stop it … before …!'

Once again, dark clouds formed around his mother. Before Lucas could do anything, he felt himself being grabbed. He looked back, but no one was there, yet he could FEEL the pressure of some one squeezing his shoulders.

'Mom! Help me!!' Lucas called out desperately.

There were no answers other than horrific screams.

'Mooom! Help me! Where are you!!' Lucas called out again, tears streaming from his eyes.

--

The creature spawned from the evil smiled. It knew that its master would be pleased with what it was doing … it would fill the boy with despair and hopelessness that by the time he reached its master, then he would be a nice source of power for it … he would be another tasty meal for the evil …. But for now, the creature had to spice up the boy with dreams of darkness …

The creature heard some one stir. Drat! It would have to retreat back into its original form.

The creature shrunk it's form back into the shape of a human heart and let itself slip into its holder. Another night or too, then the plan will be complete …

'Yes …' the creature said to itself, 'Master will like you a lot …'

--

Almost a two days had passed for Flint and his company. No one ever complained, ever talked, or even smiled or laughed. Everyone was silent, determined to reach Hometown.

"Wait … I think I see some thing up ahead …" Kumatora said, looking ahead of Flint.

"No … some one …" Flint corrected her, looking at the figure walking down the tracks.

"Maybe we can ask him or her for directions." Kumatora said, "Or maybe ask him or her to lead us to his or her town!" Kumatora said, happily.

'Stay right there.' A voice said softly in her mind.

She turned to Duster, confused. "Did you say something?"

"No." Duster said, blinking.

"But I could've sworn I hear some one talk to me …"

'It was me, the one you see ahead …' the voice said again

Kumatora blinks and looked at the figure ahead. No identified as a woman, Kumatora ran to her, bewildered.

"Did you just talk to me?" Kumatora asked, amazed.

"I told you to stay there." The woman said, smiling.

"So … you have PSI powers like me?"

The woman nodded, "And I know why you're here."

Kumatora smiled, happy to see another person who could use PSI powers. She then frowned, finally hearing the words "I know why you're here."

"Wait … so you know we're looking for-."

"Two boys. Named Lucas and Claus …" the Woman said, pulling down her hood and revealing her Violet hair.

"Ye-yes … How did you-?"

"I have PSI powers, remember … and also, I've met them." She said, looking at Flint. "You must be their father."

Flint nodded, not knowing what to say.

The woman bowed. "My name is Kana. The fates told me I needed to be with you on your journey."

Flint stepped back, taken by Kana's words. "Are you serious?"

"Flint, you are not aware of what's truly going on …" Kana said, her words hiding a hint of despair. "I'm afraid while your son is okay … he will be in mortal danger soon …"

Flint tilted his head, trying to calm his nerves. "How do you mean?"

"There's not much I understand myself, Flint, but …" Kana looked sideways, her violet hair falling on her face, "Your son has a destiny that I am afraid to look at … At least, that's what the fates have told me …"

Boney barked, surprising everyone. 'Guys, I feel like we're not alone here …' Boney said, whimpering a bit.

The group prepared themselves for a fight, but saw no one in their sight. Despite that, they knew something would come soon: Boney was never one to lie about something, and when he says something is near, they trusted him.

"I don't see anything …" Duster whispered.

A hand reached up out from under ground and grabbed Kumatora, who let out a yelp. Duster Took Kumatora and yanked her out of the Hand's grasp. All around them, decaying and decrepit bodies rose out of the ground, screaming and howling at each other, then faced the group.

"Oh man, not these guys again …" Duster said.

Kana get a small pouch from her side and started to draw a circle around her. "There is one way I can get rid of these guys and send their souls to rest, but I'll need time to prepare …"

"Don't worry, we'll cover you." Flint said, taking out his crowbar he had taken from the train.

Kumatora let out a fire-frenzy as she burned many corpses to dust. Flint whaled at countless zombies, ripping off their heads and hands. Duster used his powerful legs to knock them to the ground, making sure they would never get back up.

Duster heard a howl behind him. Before he could defend himself, he found himself face to face with the undead … who had stuck its sharp fingers right into Duster's chest.

Kumatora heard Duster yell out in pain, her heart literally stopping. She looked over to see Duster, face to face with the zombie, stabbing him with its fingers in the chest. Without thinking, Kumatora raced towards the two, blasting strong fire at the Zombie until it burned to dust, Duster falling on the ground in the process.

Kumatora immediately kneeled towards Duster, seeing his eyes clouded with pain. She then looked at his chest to check out the damage. To her surprise, there was no blood …

Kumatora then ripped open his shirt to try to find the injury. There weren't even stab markings. This did not make any sense. She know she saw the Zombie stab Duster, she heard Duster yell out in pain …

What was going on?

Flint kept beating down zombies one by one: It was now becoming impossible seeing how they were ganging up on Flint.

Flint looked back at Kana, who was mumbling to herself. "Come on, Kana. It's getting to be too much out here."

Flint swung and literally cut a zombie in half, looking back at Kana once more. She had her eyes open, and she held out her hands. Without warning, she yelled out a spell, fire forming everywhere around her. Surprisingly, the fire didn't feel hot to Flint: it was only harming the zombies. Before he knew it, every corpse out there was burning to dust.

Flint saw Kana falling to her knees. He approached her and held out his hand. "You saved us." He said, helping her up.

"Thank you for covering me …" Kana said, smiling weakly.

"Flint! Kana!!" Kumatora's shaky voice yelled out, "It's Duster … the dead people hurt him somehow and … he's not moving!!"

Flint and Kana face each other worriedly, then went to Duster, who was on the ground, breathing shallowly, being cradled in Kumatora's.

"What happened to him?" Flint asked

"A zombie just stabbed him and …" Kumatora tried her best to hide emotion, trying not to panic. "There are no stab wounds or anything, but he looks like he's in pain …"

Duster's hand shot up and grabbed Kumatora's neck, squeezing very tightly. He got up slowly and held Kumatora in the air with his hand.

"D-Duster… what are you doing …?!" Kumatora croaked, hardly able to breath

"Obstacles … Obstacles must be destroyed …" Duster yelled harshly, a slight slur to his voice.

"Duster … please … don't …!" Kumatora said in a tiny voice, trying to get out of Duster's grasp.

Flint had seen enough, and whacked Duster hard with his Crowbar. Duster's grip on Kumatora released as they both fell to the ground. Kumatora, despite what had just happened, went back to Duster's side, seeing if he was okay.

"He has been possessed …" Kana said softly, touching Kumatora's back. "It can be reversed, but we need shelter from any remaining evil that may be here. Come, let us go to the town I come from … We can fix him there."

"Please, do what you can …" Flint said, lifting the out-cold Duster over his shoulder.

Kana nodded. "We need to hurry, lest the spirit tries to corrupt his soul."

--

Lucas felt uneasy. Since his dream he had a couple of nights ago, he wasn't able to sleep. Something in his gut told him something wasn't right in the world. He glanced slightly at Claus, then at Polly, wondering why he felt so uneasy.

"So … where are we going …?" Claus asked Lucas.

"To the remains of New Pork city …" Lucas answered flatly.

Claus tilted his head, not knowing what he meant. "New … Pork …?"

"It was built and destroyed while … while you were in your coma …" Lucas said, sighing.

"I … remember hearing about New Pork City, but I had no idea it was destroyed." Polly said, putting her hand at her face.

"How did it get destroyed …?" Claus asked.

Lucas remained silent for several moments, then blurted out "fire."

"Fire?"

"There was a huge Fire."

"Really?" Claus asked.

"Yes. Really." Lucas answered darkly.

"Is that the truth, or are you lying again?"

"I'll tell you when we get there," Lucas said, facing away from Claus. "Right now, it's up to you."

Claus sighed, "Alright Lucas, I just _know_ you're lying … but for your sake, I won't say anything about it."

"Thanks" Lucas simply said.

"… Are you alright, Lucas?" Polly asked innocently.

"Yeah, I just didn't get much sleep …"

"It sounded like you didn't get any sleep at all … you were staring off at space again, whispering about your mother …"

Claus turned to Lucas, concerned. "Another vision?"

"Mom's in trouble … She wants us to stop 'the evil', before 'it consumes us all'". Lucas said, looking at the ground.

Claus patted Lucas on the Shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get there soon …"

Lucas sighed and looked ahead. "I hope so, Claus. I certainly hope so …"


	13. A Vulnerable Mind

Sorry It took so long. I STARTED SCHOOL D:

--

Flint, Kana, Kumatora and Boney all carried Duster to Hometown, determined to cleanse his soul of the spirit possessing him. But by Nightfall, Duster was already awake and thrashing about. It took all of Kumatora's and Flint's strength to keep him down.

"Can't you work any faster?!" Flint said, trying to stop Duster from getting up, "I don't know how much longer we can hold him."

"These things take time, Flint." Kana said, grabbing things from off a shelf, "I gathered almost all of my stuff, don't worry."

"Please hurry …" Kumatora said, struggling to keep Duster down, "I don't think we can hold him much longer."

"Kumatora, I've been kicked 7 times already." Flint said, still keeping the Trashing thief down, "We both need to remain strong, for him at least."

Duster Managed to get his arm out of Kumatora's grip and used it to strike Flint, who flew back to a cabinet filled with bottles and jars. Duster crept right up to him and prepared to punch him a second time, but was stopped by Kumatora clinging to his arm.

"Duster, please!! Don't do this!!" She yelled, trying to keep him from harming Flint.

Duster stood stiff, trembling. Kumatora saw in his eyes that there was pain and confusion, but the darkness within him was struggling to take control. He was in there, she knew that much.

Duster fell to his knees and clutched his head in his hands, yelling in pain. "_The evil is rising_ … no … don't do this … _the seed has sprouted and will soon grow_ … No, stop this …! … _He shall feed off that who holds much despair_ … Get out of my head!!"

"Get Duster back on the bed." Kana said, grabbing a pouch of powder, "It seems Duster's fighting this off as well."

Flint and Kumatora did their best to drag the raging Duster back to the bed while Kana drew a circle of runes around the three. She then summoned Boney over, much to the surprise of Flint.

"Boney, I have a favor to ask you …" Kana said, patting Boney lightly.

'What is it you want me to do?' Boney barked.

Kana pulled out an orb and gave it to Boney. "Hold this orb: I will use it to trap the spirit. Do not let it drop, and of course, don't swallow it."

'It seems like you know what you're doing.'

"I've done this 3 times before, actually …" Kana said, pulling her hood over her head.

Flint held on to Duster's and struggled. "Are we finally ready …?"

Kana held her hands over her heart and began to chant.

"_Everto … expulsum … Ex is putus animus … digredior obscurum quod lux lucis …_"

"I'll … take that as a 'yes'" Flint said

Kana's hands started to glow slightly as she approached Duster. Kumatora saw the darkness swirl in Duster's eyes, figuring the darkness knew it was about to be exorcised. This made Duster squirm like mad, trying to break free from the two's hold. Kumatora held on with all the strength she can muster, hoping with every hope she had.

Kana slowly put her hands on Duster's chest, and right before everyone's eyes, stuck her fingers through his chest, much like the Zombie had done. Duster let out a cry of pain, hurting everyone's ears, still squirming out of control.

"What do you think your doing?!" Kumatora yelled over Duster's screaming, "This is only hurting him more!!"

"Sometimes, we must hurt to help, dear princess …" Kana replied, concentrating on the task at hand. "Although he is in much pain, if we don't do this, the spirit will tear apart his soul …"

Kumatora closed her eyes tightly, trying to stop tears from coming out. "I … I don't want to see him in this much pain …"

"Help me …" Duster's voice croaked, his breath trembling.

Kumatora looked into Duster's eyes again. She saw that he was frightened, hurt, and confused. But that wasn't as surprising as what Kumatora saw next:

Tears.

Duster was so frightened and in so much pain that tears were finally streaming from his eyes. Seeing this, Kumatora's eyes too filled with water, emotion getting the best of her.

"We're doing everything we can …" Kumatora whispered, slightly touching his face, "Just hold on, please …"

Duster trashed about again, almost knocking Kana away. "_The darkness shall prevail; the evil shall rise once more: It shall take what belongs to it and feed off despair and hopelessness … he who holds much despair … he who holds its heart …_"

Kana stepped back as Duster uttered words, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.

"_Giygas will rise once more …_"

Kana thrust her hands in Duster's chest once more, him screaming out in pain once again. Slowly, Kana started pulling out a tangled mass of pure darkness, ripping it out as if it was his heart. Finally, the darkness revealed itself before the group as it squirmed about in Kana's glowing hands. The darkness took a small humanoid shape before Kana stuffed the darkness in the orb Boney was holding.

'What … what was that?' Boney said, whimpering

"That … was the evil …" Kana said quietly, taking the Orb from Boney.

Flint released Duster and walked up to Kana. "What is this … evil?"

Kana shook her head and walked away. "There are many things I should reveal to you … but not tonight …"

Kumatora looked at duster, his chest slowly rising and falling as he breathed. His eyes were pained, but she did not see any signs of darkness within him. She looked at Kana, quite afraid. "Will … Will he be alright …?"

"He might catch a fever, but that's all … if we got the spirit in time, all he needs is a rest."

Kumatora smiled, tears falling from her eyes. Flint decided to leave the two alone, summoning Boney at his side and walking away. Kana followed shortly after.

Duster finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, the last thing being seen was Kumatora's smiling face.

--

Lucas tossed and turned, but no matter what, he could not get to sleep. They were just mere days away from the Ruins of New Pork city, and Lucas still didn't feel prepared to tell Claus the truth. What could he say? How will Claus react to the fact that he's supposed to be dead?

… And how did he come back to life?

Lucas was shocked that he didn't think of that sooner. It was a question on how he came back to life, but there was also what happened to his old body? How did he manage to find his way to the village? What was he doing near the river in the first place?

Why does he not remember the events that happened so long ago?

Lucas sat up and clutched his knee. He now felt uneasy about the whole thing. His mother kept repeating something about 'the evil', and now he felt as if something was … watching him.

Lucas looked around. Both Polly and Claus were asleep next to each other on the ground. They both looked peaceful enough to be real, but looks could be deceiving.

He was about to shake his brother awake, but stopped himself. No, he will not dive into this any further. All will be told and answered once they reach their destination.

Lucas perked his head up, swearing he heard a voice. It didn't sound like his mother, but he knew it was female. The voice called out to Lucas, so soft and serene Lucas felt relaxed by it.

"Hello?" Lucas called, "Is anyone there?"

'Do you remember the lady in Hometown, the one your brother called 'weirdo freaky lady'?"

"… Kana?" Lucas asked softly.

'Yes …' Kana's voice said softly.

"Where are you?"

'I am not here in physical form: My body is back with your father and the group. Close you eyes.'

Lucas did as commanded and closed his eyes.

'Now concentrate … go within your mind and I shall be there …'

Lucas relaxed and concentrated, almost meditating. Before he knew it, he was in the same place he kept meeting his dead mother, the same place the darkness was invading.

He was in his own mind.

Lucas looked and saw Kana, standing there, almost transparent. Lucas walked closer to her and looked into her eyes.

'I didn't know you could do that.' Lucas said in a tiny voice.

'The mind is sanctuary in which you need the right key to get into.' Kana said, smiling. 'I was trained in many forms of "Mind-reading", this is the one I just use often.'

'You think I could learn that?' Lucas asked, smiling.

Kana patted his head, 'Lucas, you do not need such power. This is _your _sanctuary.'

Lucas tilted his head 'Oh … well, okay, if you say so …'

'I am afraid, though, your mind is very vulnerable to outsiders: I can sense darkness has stepped in here more than once.' Kana said, frowning.

'Is that bad?' Lucas asked.

'It can … if you fall into its grasp. Lucas, you need to learn to strengthen your mind to able to repel the forces of darkness.' Kana said

'How can I do that?'

'I am not even sure myself: even I had darkness get into my mind …' Kana said, her voice softening.

Kana then looked away, sensing something amiss. She saw the darkness starting to swirl again, surrounding the two.

'Oh no … not this again …' Lucas whimpered.

'Lucas … I am sorry, there is not much I can do for you without my physical body …' Kana said depressingly.

'Get out of here before the darkness gets you too, Kana!' Lucas yelled to Kana, his voice becoming desperate.

Kana started to turn to run, but stopped mid-way when she sensed another form of essence within his mind. Kana searched around until she saw a woman-like figure, running to Lucas, her face expressing worry and fear.

'Lucas, get out of here!!' The woman said, reaching out for Lucas.

'Mom?' Lucas's voice rang out, 'Mom where are you?!'

Kana stood there, surprised. So that was his mother, and she seems to be protecting him from that darkness … what could this mean?

Kana decided to do as Lucas said finally and left his mind. Her spirit drifted back to her physical body, sitting in her bedroom.

Kana held her head. This boy had something … unusual about him. He was stuck with a certain fate, yes, but there was something about the other spirit she saw within Lucas's mind, his mother.

Did his mother have the ability to penetrate minds as well? Or was she doing something else Kana was not aware of?

Whatever it was, Kana smiled. Flint's wife was not only beautiful, but even beyond death, life, or the physical manifestation of a human body … Hinawa was still able to protect her loved children.

Kana sighed, "Flint, I believe your wife heard your wish. While the boys are still in danger … I now have hope that they'll be safe, even with a seed of evil within one of them …"

--

Lucas jerked his eyes open, staring face to face with Polly, who was right up to his nose. Lucas let out a yelp and fell back, startling Polly at the same time.

"Hey … guys … can'ya keep it down … I'm tryin' ta sleep …" Claus said, stirring

"P-p-polly!" Lucas stuttered, "What were you doing?!"

"You were having a vision again …" Polly said, "I was getting worried because you looked like you were in pain …"

Lucas got up and swatted away the dirt on his pants, "I'm fine, Polly, thank you …"

"Y'know … Lucas …" Polly whispered, "I'm not sure if you really are alright …"

Lucas grudgingly walked away from Polly, not wanting to talk about anything. "I am fine, Polly, It's okay. Just go back to sleep."

Polly stared at Lucas before sighing to herself and laying back down. She saw that Lucas was in pain, that he was lonesome, scared, and confused. Worst of all, all this stress is getting Lucas both physically and mentally. Soon, Lucas won't be able to go up against anything if it remains like this.

Polly smiled.

--

+20 points if you know what Kana was speaking and what she said .


	14. Truth Revealed

HEY GUYS. GUESS WHAT. MORE KUMATORAXDUSTER STUFF

--

All was silent overnight. No one had said a word to each other, not even Boney let out a single bark. Everyone just hung around, hoping that Duster would wake up soon, hoping he would be okay. All he had done was slept soundly, never waking up.

Kumatora never left his side, she didn't even sleep. All she wanted was for Duster to wake up. From time to time she would put her ear on Duster's chest, making sure he was still alive, hearing his heartbeat. But finally, after 8 straight hours, the princess became fatigued and rested her head on the edge of the bed, falling asleep right away.

Shortly after, Duster's eyes flickered open, just as Kumatora went to sleep. He sat up in his bed, holding his head. There was so much that he remembered, he had no idea where to start. He remembered being possessed, being is so much pain, being lost in the darkness …

Kumatora …

Duster looked to his side and saw Kumatora resting on the edge of the bed. He had no idea how to react, weather he should wake her up or to let her sleep on. He was briefly reminded on how he woke up with her on his shoulder when they were on that train.

Duster smiled and put his hand on Kumatora's hair. Kumatora's eyes flickered open, bloodshot and filled with emotion. She stared blankly at Duster, who only smiled at her.

"Hey." Duster said.

Kumatora stared at Duster for a moment, then out of nowhere, jumped at him and hugged him tightly around his chest, crying her eyes out.

"Duster … I …" Her words were separated by deep breaths, "I was so worried … I thought you … you could've died or … I didn't know what I would've done if …"

She continued crying into Duster's chest, leaving Duster quite stunned and feeling awkward. Duster embraced Kumatora, stroking her head. "It's alright, you don't have to worry any longer." Duster said softly, "Don't cry now, everything will be alright …"

Kumatora pushes herself away from Duster and wiped her eyes, sniffling. After a few minutes, she stared at Duster again, putting on the best happy face she could, despite her tears still falling. "Duster, P-promise me you'll never worry me like that again."

Duster smiled and chuckled a bit, then put his hand tenderly on Kumatora's face. "I try not to … not on purpose, at least."

Kumatora brought Duster closer to her and hugged him again, remaining silent. This time, Duster immediately returned her hug with one of his own, the two remaining in that position for several silent moments.

Unbeknownst to them, Flint watched from behind the door, quietly smiling to himself. Such a tender moment reminded him once again of his younger days, falling in love with Hinawa. He was glad, at least, he would be able to see love blossom again in front of his eyes.

"Those two care about each other more than they realize." Kana's voice said from behind Flint. He turned around and saw her approaching, smiling to herself.

"I knew those two would end up with each other sooner or later …" Flint said.

Kana nodded. "Flint, I'm sure this is making you think of Hinawa …"

Flint looked down, "Yes, it is … I guess you could say that in some sort of sick, twisted and crazy way … I still love her."

"Some one you care for cannot be replaced easily … even though they've been erased from this earth, this is what I have been told …" Kana said, looking out a window.

A silence fell among the two. Only the slight wind could be heard. Kana glanced at Flint quickly and saw he had a grim expression on his face.

"What's troubling you, Flint?" Kana asked

"What?" Flint asked, blinking

"You look as if you've received bad news. Tell me, what troubles you?"

Flint sighed. "It's what … Duster said during the exorcism."

Kana looked away, knowing what he means.

"_Giygas_ … why does that name … why does it …" Flint said, trying to find the last word.

"Why does the name scare you?" Kana asked, finishing his sentence.

"Well … yeah …" Flint said, troubled he couldn't admit he was afraid of something.

Kana sighed. "_Giygas_ is actually a word my people used for evil. But it was derived from an event that supposedly happened in the beginning of time."

Flint looked at her. "It still doesn't explain much."

Kana walked towards a window, staring at the sunshine outside, "A being … no, a formless void of darkness … no emotion, no thought, all it can think about is consuming the world in darkness. It is powered from Despair, hopelessness, fear … death."

Kana touched the window, staring at her reflection, "But a legend of four heroes … four children, in fact … they used what powers they had and vanquished it, setting peace for future generations to enjoy …"

Kana saw in the reflection Flint coming up behind her. "But why did Duster say _Giygas_ will return again?"

Kana shook her head. "I am not sure …"

Flint looked down. "The boys …"

"I know Flint … I know." Kana said, a tear falling out of her eye.

--

New Pork City. A Child's Play-pen. The thought of a deranged and childish 1000 year old man, colorful and filled with surprises at every turn. Lucas had once traveled here with Duster, his dog Boney, Kumatora and Duster in hopes of reaching the seventh needle. Now that the world was re-created, it laid in ruins: Buildings crumbled, Trees decaying, a miasma of smog still filling the air. Lucas did not know which was better, New Pork City then or New Pork City now …

Either way, he couldn't have cared less, or in all for that matter. All he cared about was trying to explain things to Claus. They had stayed on the very edge just the night before, but as usual, Lucas would lay awake, thinking of what to say …

"Claus, something happened to you long ago and … no wait … you see, the basic gist of it is … aw darn it … Claus, you died four years ago and..."

Lucas slapped his forehead. "Nooo, Claus would never believe me … How can I tell him he's supposed to be dead? How can I tell him anything?"

"Maybe you could relay the message onto me …" Polly Voice rang up as Lucas sat up. Lucas looked at Polly, who, as usual, looked concerned. "You can tell me, at least. If you want me to tell Claus or not, I'll leave that up to you …"

Lucas bit his lip, then sighed. "Okay, how about this … I'll pretend you're Claus, react in any way you like, but whatever I tell you, DON'T tell Claus, okay?"

Polly smiled, "Of course."

Lucas sighed, "Okay, here it goes …"

Lucas took a deep breath. "Okay, four years ago you, as Claus, disappeared, and apparently died. The Pig-mask army, an army ran by the Dictator King Pokey, took your body and rebuilt it until you weren't human anymore. You and I had a bout around the Seventh Needle and you killed yourself by using PK Thunder, which bounced off of me and killed you. I pulled the needle and recreated the world. While I was being all 'soulless', you mysteriously reappeared and we decided to leave it at the fact that you were alive."

Lucas looked at Polly, her face hard to define.

Lucas waited for a reaction. "Well …?"

Polly blinked, "I really don't know what to say …"

Lucas sighed. "Still. Don't tell Claus a WORD of this. Deal?"

Polly smiled. "I promise! No word of this to Claus!"

Lucas nodded. "Good. Go back to sleep."

"Alright!" Polly said out loud as she lied back down and almost immediately went back to sleep.

Lucas also lied down, but didn't go back to sleep. He laid awake again, pondering the day to come.

Unknown to Lucas, Claus faced away from him, also lying awake, and in shock. He had heard every word of what Lucas said. Claus did his best of keeping back tears, not being able to accept what he had just heard. Was he really supposed to be dead just like Kana said? And how did he come back alive?

Claus shut his eyes tightly, biting his lip. He knew this also pained Lucas as much as it pains him. What could he do …?

Claus let out a silent but heavy sigh, releasing all of the stress. Lucas will tell him when he's ready. What he needs to do now is try to figure out how he came back to life.

Claus closed his eyes, tears falling out as he did.


	15. PSI Teleport

Dude, I'm actually at my College right now. LIBRARIES ROCK!!

--

'Is everything going as planned …?' the evil asked its child.

"Yes, my master …" the child said "All is going _exceptionally_ well …"

'Have you blocked _her_ out yet?'

"She is proving _difficult_, master …" The child said, "Somehow her will and soul cannot be swayed by our darkness …"

'No matter.' The evil said, 'As long as she cannot speak with the child, and as long as _he _holds my seed … it will soon come to motion, and I will take what is mine once more.'

"Of course, master, there is the matter of those following him …" The child spoke.

'I am not blind, you fool. I am aware they know my name!' His angered voice roared like thunder.

"Master_ Giygas_ …" the child spoke, "soon, everyone shall know your name."

'Yes, but I cannot allow them to interfere any longer. I shall send more of my servants out to deal with them. I trust the children with you…'

The child bowed. "You have nothing to fear, Master …"

'Of course …' The evil, known as _Giygas_, said, 'I _AM_ the fear …'

--

_CRASH_

Lucas woke with a start. At first, Lucas was surprised he even fell asleep. But then he remembered what woke him up. It was a loud booming sound, almost like a thunder crash. He looked to the sky, seeing nothing but gloomy clouds. But despite that, there was no rain or Thunder. He looked to the side and saw Polly sleeping soundly, but Claus was missing.

_CRASH_! The sound rang again. Lucas, now up, went to the source of the loud crash. Upon arrival, he found Claus, all by himself, using his Thunder attack.

"Hey, Cl-Claus …" Lucas said, approaching his brother.

Claus did not respond, but instead, used another Lightning attack, this time bigger than before. Lucas approached him once more, putting his hand gently on his shoulder. "Claus, I-."

Claus whirled around and grabbed his brother's hand tightly, startling Lucas. What surprised Lucas more was the fact that he wasn't letting go.

"C-Claus y-you're hurting me …" Lucas said, trying to hold back tears.

Claus finally let go and faced away from his brother. "Sorry …" Claus said through his teeth, "You startled me …"

"Claus, are you okay? You seem … cranky …"

"I …" Claus thought of what he learned last night, how he was supposed to be dead. "I couldn't get much sleep last night …"

Lucas blinked, fearing the worst. "Did you … hear anything last night?"

Claus shook his head. He was lying, but he wanted his brother to be at peace. "No. I didn't"

Lucas sighed in relief "Wow, good, okay then …"

"Why? Was I _supposed_ to hear something?" Claus asked with a glare.

"Uh … no …" Lucas said with a tiny voice.

Claus turned away from Lucas and let loose another lightning bolt. For some reason, every time he used it, he would always have this "De ja vu" feeling … as if he had learned this before. He somehow felt this attack connected him to the past. He kept questioning himself if he should ask Lucas about it … he did promise Claus he would tell him the truth once they've reached New Pork City.

Of course, he had heard it already.

Lucas sighed. "Claus, how about we get back and start heading into the city …" Lucas said quietly.

"Lucas … about …" Claus bit his bottom lip, "About the … um …"

"You mean about the 'Talk' I'm supposed to give you?" Lucas said quietly.

"Whatever happens, Lucas, we're brothers, right?" Claus asked.

"Of course!" Lucas said, "And nothing can change that fact!"

"Nothing?"

"Absolutely nothing!"

Claus turned to the Gloomy sky, then back at Lucas, nodding. "Alright. We're brothers forever. No matter what."

"No matter what." Lucas repeated.

"Lets Wake up Polly and Head in … Who knows what we may find in there."

"Yeah …" Lucas Gulped, "I wonder …"

--

Kana spent all morning preparing for a 'really tricky spell' (as she told Flint). While she was preparing, Duster and Kumatora spent the morning getting ready, packing essentials like food and water. Literally overnight Duster felt better, save for the fact that his chest hurt.

Kumatora grabbed one of Duster's shirt off the bed and looked at it. It was dirty, smelly, and none to pleasant to look at. She made a note to herself to seriously force Duster to take a bath once they got home.

Home …

Kumatora remembered the conversation she had with Duster on the train, what they would do after this is over. Funny, she thought to herself how neither one of them had any clue on what to do. They spent the last 8 months rebuilding the Town and its system.

Neither one had time to actually get back to their regular lives. It has been so long that Kumatora finally realized that … she had completely forgotten her past lifestyle.

But she knew, whatever the future holds, she wanted everyone to be in it: Lucas, Claus, Wes, Flint, and especially Duster...

"What are you doing with my shirt?" Duster's voice called from behind Kumatora. She turned to Duster and saw that he was shirtless, a single patch over his chest where he was stabbed.

Kumatora realized that she was grasping the Shirt so tight her hands were beginning to become red, as was her face.

"Er … sorry, I spaced out."

Duster Chuckled, "I can see that."

Kumatora handed Duster his shirt. Duster put his shirt on, messing up his already ruffled hair, and looked at Kumatora, who stood there. Duster slightly smiled and patted her head "You're awfully quiet this morning."

"Yeah, well …" Kumatora began, "It's not really easy packing and talking at the same time."

"But you're not packing." Duster said, "You're just standing there."

Kumatora's face turned a deep shade of red. Duster chuckled and approached her, smiling. "Hey, Kumatora …"

"Yeah?"

"Um … I was just wondering, if … you know …"

"Yeah?"

Duster slightly blushed and pushed his two index fingers together, "If you know … maybe … after all this is over … we could … you know …"

"Hang out sometime?" Kumatora said, finishing his sentence.

Duster gulped and smiled awkwardly, nodding. Kumatora looked at him slyly and said, "Sure, I think I can manage that."

Duster coughed, then stood up straight. "Good, well, because …"

"Oi, You two." Flint said, coming into the doorway, "Kana is just about complete. Finish packing and start moving."

Duster and Kumatora stood up straight and blushed, both saying yes in unison. After a few more moments of last-minute packing, they joined Kana, Boney and Flint outside.

"So you'll be able to teleport us to the ruins of New Pork City?" Duster asked Kana, who was concentrating.

"Yes, Duster." Kana said, "This 'spell' as you can call it has been passed down from generation to generation. It has been used to skip time and space, travling between the threads to get to our destination …"

Duster blinked, not understanding a word of that.

"I think you'll understand better if I just show it to you." Kana said, smiling to herself. "Now, all of you, stand in a perfectly straight line behind me."

They all did as commanded and stood behind Kana in a straight line. Kana started mumbling to herself, chanting words needed for the spell …

"_PSI Teleport_ α"

Before they knew it, their legs started acting on their own. They started running faster than any of them had ran before. The wind rushing past their hair, the scenery rapidly changing, the sights and sounds were all a blur to the group. A rush of sights and sounds mixed in a pallet of colours started to appear. Then, just as suddenly as all that happened, the scene changed from that of a beautiful morning to that of a gloomy and cloudy dump. As they slowed down, the scenery started to reappear again, in the shapes and sounds of the Ruins of New Pork City.

Duster Fell to his knees, trembling. "That … that was frightening …"

"It's always frightening the first time." Kana said, pulling her hood up, "Just be glad there wasn't anything in the way."

Flint looked around, and saw that Lucas and Claus were no where in sight. Was it possible they have already moved on?

Kana slightly touched Flint's shoulder and smiled. "They're around, I can sence their presence here."

Flint nodded. "We'll split up into two Groups. Kana and Kumatora will go that way, Duster and I will go this way. Boney, you stay here until we get back."

'Of course.' Boney Barked.

They went into their separate groups and split up. Unbeknown to them, though, The Darkness was closely following behind …

--

Lucas stared at the Mighty Empire Pork Building, letting all the memories settle back into his mind. It was here where he first met the Evil King P … Pokey Minch …. It was here that he pulled the seventh needle and recreated the world. It was here where he battled with his brother, ending up killing him … It was here where all things ended and Began at the same time.

But to Claus, who had no recollection at all of the past 4 years, it was just another dusty, moldy, and crumbling ruin.

"So this is the place?" Claus asked Lucas, who merely nodded.

"To think that this was once a mighty building at one time …" Polly said innocently, "And you think you may find your mother here?"

"Well, I know we'll find something …" Lucas said quietly.

Claus looked at the building again, feeling his heart beat faster. Something in his gut told him he was here before. Or, more in fact …

"Underground …" Claus mumbled to himself.

Lucas looked at Claus, confused. "What was that?"

"ER … well …" Claus looked sideways, then back at Lucas and Polly. "Look, we've been walking for hours now … I can't really tell, but it looks close to sunset."

Polly Yawned "I know, I'm actually starting to get sleepy. We've been walking for a long time."

Lucas sighed. "Well, if you guys say so … we'll rest here for the night …"

The group started to unpack, unaware of what dangers were lurking in the shadows.

--

Yes, it took them ALL DAY to get from the outskirts of the city to the Big big building. IT'S A BIG CITY D:


	16. Darkness all around

Oi, Finally updated, Sorry --; I WAS SO BUSY WITH WORK D:

--

"Kana …" Kumatora whispered to Kana, shivering to keep warm. "It's almost nighttime … It's starting to get cold, we need to stop this now …"

Kana opened her eyes and let her hands drop to her sides. She was trying to pin point the exact location of the children, but the fact that she already used her power to teleport the 5 plus the fact that that the darkness she sensed all around her made it nearly impossible to search for them. She could feel their presences in the ruined city, she just didn't know where.

"If you wish that, Princess." Kana said, turning to walk back to Boney, "Hopefully the Men will stop their attempt as well …"

"I'm just hoping that there's some wood to burn, I'm freezing!" Kumatora said, blowing warm breath upon her hands. "I can't believe it's close to winter already …"

Kana smiled to herself. "It will be warmer in the morning. Come, we must proceed."

"Hey, Kana …?" Kumatora spoke up.

"Yes, Princess?"

"It's about the boys …" She said, looking at her hands. "You keep telling us they're in grave danger …"

Kana nodded. "There is a miasma of darkness all around the three … And … I am afraid one of them may be the source of it."

"What?!" Kumatora yelled out, "Why didn't you tell that to us earlier?!"

"Because I'm afraid that I don't know who it may be from …"

The Angered princess kicked up a tiny dust storm with her shoe. "This isn't good. Damn it, what is going on?!"

Kana blinked, and then her eyes blanked out. Kumatora stared at her, wondering what was happening. "Kana? You okay?"

"Lucas …" Kana said in a trance, "I can see Lucas …"

"What? Where is he?!"

Kana's lips quivered as she stared off into space. Her eyes looked glossy and fearful, as if she was seeing something bad happen right before her eyes.

"Kana, what's wrong? Is Lucas in Trouble?" Kumatora asked. She let out a cry when Kana suddenly fell to her side, holding her head. Kumatora helped her up, trying to keep her from passing out. "Kana, please, tell me, what the heck's going on?"

"Lucas's mind is being invaded once again … and … I'm afraid they finally got to her …"

"Who?"

Kana looked at Kumatora, frightened as ever before. "They finally got to Hinawa."

--

Claus stirred, the night still around him, thinking he heard someone call his name out. He heard nothing and fatigue was getting to him again, threatening to put him back into slumber once more. He waited a few more moments, then rested his head again, closing his eyes.

"Claus!" He heard a voice call from the distance. Now he knew someone was calling him. The voice seemed to belong to a man, an older man, almost like …

His father.

Stricken by the very thought that Flint and the rest finally caught up with them, Claus got up and panicked. Flint shouldn't find them, not yet. They needed to at least see if their mother was at least alive. Claus gave Polly and Lucas a rough push, yanking them out of their sleep.

"Lucas, Dad's here! He's finally here! We'll be dead if he finds us here!"

Lucas gulped. He started to gather his things when Claus stopped him with his arm. "Lucas, there's no time!" Claus said, "We need to go NOW."

"But if we leave our stuff here," Lucas said, "He'll know we're here! Plus the fact that we are leaving it right in front of the building doesn't help either."

"I agree with Claus." Polly said, "We're wasting enough time just standing and talking here. I wouldn't worry about your father though."

Claus blinked, "Why is that?"

Polly smiled as she led the three into the building, "Just a feeling. Come on, I'm sure we'll find something inside!"

--

"Claus!" Flint yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Lucas!!" Duster said, mimicking Flint.

The Two had searched and searched, but they could not find any evidence of Lucas and Claus. They kept hope that they were in the city somewhere, but now that hope was waning. They had already spent more than half the day searching for the two, and barely covered half the city.

"Flint, it's starting to get late," Duster said, shivering "I'm sure the girls stopped looking, why can't we?"

Flint put his hand at his side and sighed. "I guess you're right Duster. Plus we'll freeze if we don't build a fire soon …"

Duster nodded "Agreed. We need to – wait, hold up"

Duster turned his head to the side and saw something in the distance. He ran off to whatever he saw, Flint close behind. Flint straightened when he saw items of clothes and blankets thrown about and scattered across a single spot of dirt, right in front of the Empire Pork Building. Upon further investigation, he found that the loose articles of clothing did in fact belong to his children.

"This spot is still warm …" Duster said, placing his hand upon the spot where a blanket was. "They were just here!"

"They must be in that building!" Flint exclaimed, rushing for the ruined doors.

"Wait! Flint!" Duster said. But he was too late; Flint had already rushed inside the building, completely ignoring Duster. He sighed and turned around – he was hoping to get some sleep, or at least warm up by a nice fire. But now, it seemed it was his duty to lead Kana, Kumatora and Boney to the building.

Duster Stiffened. He felt a rush of cold wind just fly past his ear. Duster prepared himself for an ambush, but saw nothing when he span around. Duster shrugged off the feeling of danger and continued walking back.

Two hands rose from the ground, grabbing both of Duster's ankles. He fell over, landing on his chin and biting his tongue. He had no time to yell out in fear and pain, for the dark shadows that surrounded him started to emerge and envelope him in pure darkness. Duster tried in vain to reach out for something, anything, that would prevent him from being consumed completely.

The darkness surrounded him, embraced him, and suffocated him of every last breath he had. He wasn't able to scream, to yell, to cry out for help, all he could do was flail about while the darkness consumed him.

The shadows finally parted, and there was nothing left but the dirt.

--

Kumatora carried Kana, her arm around her shoulder. Kana felt as if she had been poisoned, she could not think straight, see straight, or even talk straight. Kumatora thought the best plan of action was to retreat to where Boney was and wait until the men came back.

Finally, she saw Boney in the distance, his tail between his legs as he shivered.

'Y-you g-g-guys sh-sh-should've b-built a f-fire, I-I-I-I-I'm _FREEZING_ here …' Boney whimpered

"Sorry Boney." Kumatora said, putting down Kana and getting out lumber from her bag.

Boney approached Kana cautiously and sniffed her, whimpering in concern 'What's wrong with her?'

"I'm not sure …" Kumatora said, "It's something about this place that's putting her mind in a tizzy." Kumatora gathered the sticks and used her PK fire attack to light them. "Have you seen the boys yet?"

Boney shook his head, 'No, sorry princess.' He said, 'No sign.'

"I wish your nose was still working …" Kumatora sighed, rubbing her hands together in effort to keep them warm, "We could've found Lucas and Claus by now."

Kana groaned, sitting up. Kumatora and Boney went to her side and helped her up. "Easy there, girl. I'm not quite sure what's going on, but it seems you were in pretty bad shape."

Kana lightly pushed Kumatora away. She rubbed her head with both her hands, then looked at Kumatora with dazed eyes. "I am sorry for the episode back there, Kumatora. I let my mind open to the shadows outside and … they just ambushed me …"

Kumatora blinked. "I'm not sure if I'm getting what you're saying, but I'll believe you because I've no choice but to do so."

Kana lightly laughed.

Kumatora smiled, but quickly frowned again when she put her knees up to her chest.

"The boys are deep within the Lion's den now …" Kana said, reading Kumatora's mind. "I'm afraid that it may be too late for us to reach them …"

"We'll at least try …" Kumatora said.

"Yes … we shall certainly try … but …"

Kumatora looked at Kana, concerned.

"I'm afraid that Lucas may not find what he is searching for."

Kumatora looked into the fire. "Are you startling to lose faith?"

Kana shook her head. "No … no, I haven't lost faith … but …"

Kana sighed. "Hinawa is dead … but she still had a purpose in the life she had, so she is alive."

"So wait, I'm confused …" Kumatora said, "You're saying because she HAS a purpose, she's alive, but otherwise, she's dead?"

Kana shook her head. "It's hard for me to explain but … All I can say is that Hinawa's will and soul are so strong, she managed to harvest her soul within Lucas's body …"

Kumatora stared at Kana in shock.

"Hinawa's Soul … her soul is leading Lucas to this place, because she sees something that only Lucas can take care of."

"So … All the times that Lucas was out of it …" Kumatora mumbled to herself, "All the days that he got up and wondered around, looking for something … That must've been Hinawa leading Lucas somewhere." Kumatora stared at Kana again, aghast, "She must've been searching for Claus the time he was in the River 3 months ago!"

Kana stared at the ground. "I'm afraid, though That's Lucas's mind has been shadowed by the darkness, and now, Hinawa can't grant him power. If we don't do something soon, her soul and Lucas's mind will be forever lost to the darkness."

Boney barked and growled. 'Guys, we have company again!'

Kumatora stood straight up, her hands glowing with power. Kana stood up slowly, trying to spot the danger. The darkness all around the three revealed itself, changing into multiple forms of humanoid bodies. Kumatora unleashed a fire blast towards half of the shadows, but more kept coming. She backed up towards Kana, who kept defending herself with a similar fire attack.

"Why won't these creature die?!" Kumatora asked, frustrated.

Boney barked and lashed out towards a shadow, preparing to bite. Unfortunately, he would never use his teeth, for the darkness had enveloped him before he even reached his target. The Darkness had swallowed Boney hole, leaving nothing more than the ground he was previously on.

"Boney!!" Kumatora called out. She heard Kana yell out, and turned around to find that she too was being swallowed by the darkness. Kumatora was about to aid her when she found her hands were now also being consumed. Kumatora lashed out, flailing, trying to get out of the darkness. Kumatora glanced over her shoulder and saw that Kana was now completely consumed, her form shrinking before Kumatora's eyes. Finally, the Darkness completely covered Kumatora, suffocating her. She reached out, but alas, couldn't grab anything.

All that was left from the chaotic scene was the single campfire that was made only short moment before.

--

I have the song "Hush-a-bye" Mountain stuck in my head. I dunno why.


	17. The Underground part 1

HA! You thought I was dead, didn't you?! WELL YOU WERE WRONG BABY!!

--

Lucas was terrified. You couldn't tell at first glance, but if you knew him as well as Claus did, you could just tell he would wet himself the moment someone would slightly touch him. He found himself descending via elevator to the underground, the same place where all the chaotic moments almost now 9 months ago happened. He was surprised the Elevator still worked.

He took a glance at the people behind him. Claus, for once in his lifetime, had a serious look on his face. It scared Lucas slightly, seeing his brother like that. He then took another look at Polly, who was surprisingly calm … happy … almost, _too happy_ …

The doors opened to the dark, misty underground. It was just the way he left it. How could everything else change while the underground here still remained the same?

If this was the same, what else could be left from before?

Lucas gulped. "This … This is the moment of truth."

He turned to Claus. "Whatever happens, we're brothers, right?"

Claus nodded. "Yes."

Lucas turned back around, away from Claus. "Good. Well. Now I think it's time to tell you the truth …"

Lucas gulped and sighed.

"Okay … well, you know when Dad and I told you that you were in a Coma for about 4 years? That's a lie. For about 3 years you disappeared, but that's because the Pig-mask Army took you rebuilt you into becoming their general. You had lightning powers, and we battled a couple of times, only, I didn't KNOW it was you until the last battle and .. well, you see, I had this badge that could repel lightning, so you killed yourself when you sent the lightning towards me and it bounced off of you, and …"

He noticed that Claus was not responding to anything he said. He turned around and saw that not only Claus was missing, but Polly was nowhere to be found as well. Lucas panicked. He would have to search for the two all by himself now, in the dark, scary, mine-like underground.

Lucas felt like throwing up.

"Okay, just … calm down, Lucas …" Lucas told himself, pacing in a small circle, "Polly prob'ly had to use the bathroom and Claus was escorting her to a private place … but then, why wouldn't he tell me …? O-Okay then! Claus also felt like throwing up, so Polly took him to the edge to do so!"

Lucas turned to look at a cliff, but still, nor Polly or Claus was in sight.

Lucas grabbed his head. "Oh geez, what do I do what do I do what do I do what do I do …?"

"LUCAS!" Flint's voice boomed over the canyon. Lucas turned and saw his father running towards him. Ecstatic, plus the fact he was terrified beyond belief, he ran towards his father and wrapped his arms around his waist, on the verge of tears.

"D-dad! I-I'm sorry, I really am!" Lucas said, trying his best to fight the onslaught of tears, "I-I think M-mom's a-alive a-a-and we came here because a fortune teller told us to … a-and now Polly and C-Claus are missing and …"

"It's okay, son." Flint said, patting Lucas on the head, "You've nothing to fear now."

Lucas wiped his tears and smiled at his father. But he frowned again when he looked around, Claus still nowhere in sight.

"They shouldn't have gone far … plus, there's only one way to go and that's …" Lucas said, his voice trailing off.

Flint marched forward, Lucas creeping behind. "We shall soon find out if you're right or not, son …"

--

Kumatora woke up, her head aching and her left leg in pain. She remembered that she and Kana were attacked by 'Shadow-creatures'. Trying to ignore the searing pain that pulsated from her leg, she got up, spotting Boney on the other side, leaning against a cavern wall.

"What is this place …?" Kumatora asked herself, "It's nothing like the underground, could it be possible that …?"

She heard stirring from the left of her. To her delight, she found Duster, messed up but still alive. She limped towards him, helping Duster to his feet.

"Agh … be careful, my right arm hurts … I think I may have broken a bone." Duster said, coughing slightly and still dazed.

"Oi, my left leg's in pain too, you don't see me complaining …" Kumatora said, letting Duster rest against the wall. "Were you attacked by shadow-creatures too?"

Duster nodded. "Yeah …"

Kumatora looked around. "Where's Flint?"

"He … he might be in the building already … He rushed in right before they attacked me." Duster said, shaking his head.

Kumatora looked around once more, and saw that Boney was finally stirring. So, Flint was in the building, hopefully with Lucas and Claus, Duster was here, and Boney was here … all that left was …

"Where's Kana?" Kumatora asked.

Duster blinked. "Wasn't see with you?"

Kumatora looked around, "She was … I wonder if we got separated during the attack …?"

Finally, the pain in the princess's leg took over her body, and she gently fell to the floor, trying to quell the pain. Duster, as best as he could do with one arm, helped the princess towards the cavern wall, laying her against it.

"You might wanna rest that leg, Princess …" Duster said softly, "If you continue to use it the way I did, you might end up like me with a limp leg."

Kumatora tried getting up, but the pain in her leg plus Duster pushing her down kept her sitting. "Duster, we need to get to the others … Lucas … he may be …"

Duster sighed, "Princess … honestly, to tell you the truth, I don't think there's much we can do about them …"

Kumatora fought back tears. In her mind, she wanted to protest against Duster, but in her heart, she felt that he was right.

"Then … Then what can we do …?" Kumatora said, leaning against Duster. "What should we do …?"

Duster closed his eyes and looked down. In truth, he had no idea what they should do. As injured as they were, plus the fact that they had no idea where they were, they were pretty much useless in the current situation right now.

Duster sighed. "We Pray, Kumatora. We pray …"

--

Kana was injured, but she was alive.

That was the least of her worries.

She found herself wondering through a labyrinth, twisting and turning every which way imaginable. Anyone would have gone crazy by now, but Kana was more patient than that. She knows she'll eventually find a way out.

But will she find it in time?

Ever since she woke up, she had been getting visions of darkness, most of them including Lucas and Claus in some way. They were in terrible danger, so she had to hurry and get out of here.

Another vision. She heard a woman's cry for help, screaming in pain. She wondered for a moment if Polly was in danger as well … no, this wasn't Polly's screams. They sounded more like the woman she heard before.

Hinawa.

Then a reality struck her: she had dozens of visions including both Lucas and Claus, but why did none of them include Polly?

Unless …

Unless she was the one causing them …

Could it be?

Kana picked up her feet and ran. No matter how much pain she felt in her ribs, no matter how much breath she had, she had to protect the children as much as possible.

Because they're deep within the Lion's mouth: only a miracle could save them.

--

"Are you sure Lucas will be alright?" Claus said, following close behind Polly.

"I'm positive!" Polly said with the same smile as before, "This won't take long, honest!!"

"Where are you even leading me?" Claus asked, "Why does all of this seem … familiar?"

"Because you were here before …" Polly said, her eyes becoming blank and her voice becoming serious.

Claus looked at Polly, not being able to see her face. He wondered why she sounded so serious. "Polly? You alright?"

Polly turned around and smiled at Claus again, her face pleasant to look at. "I'm fine!' she said excitedly, "But you seem tense."

Polly went behind Claus and grabbed both of his shoulders, leading him forward. Her voice darkened as she put her chin on his right shoulder. "You do like me, right …?" Polly said, her tone almost seductive.

"Uh … Y-yeah … I do …" Claus said, blushing and trembling at the same time.

"I want you to play with me for a bit …" Polly whispered in Claus's ear.

"What?!" Claus yelled out, his eyes wide.

"I know of a game we can play …" Polly said, slipping her hand down Claus's arm. "And here are the rules …"

Her hand rested on Claus's wrist. Claus didn't know whether to resist or to go along with her (granted Claus still thought she was cute … but now she was just acting CREEPY). Before Claus could decide, he felt his arm being twisted back, Polly's arm wrapping around his neck.

"If you try to resist, you lose. If you try to fight back, you lose. If you call out for help, you lose." Polly said, her eyes turning blood red.

"What … what are we playing?" Claus asked, trying to reach for any air he could find.

"My version of 'follow the leader'. I will lead you somewhere, and you have no choice but to follow." Polly whispered.

"But … But I'm in front of you …" Claus said, his tone flat.

"I said this was MY version, did I not?" Polly said, forcing Claus forward. "I want to show you something …"

Claus felt himself being lead forward, not knowing what she was going to show him. He had no choice but to let Polly lead him forward.

Polly spoke once again, her voice icy cold, sending a shiver down his spine.

"_Master Giygas has been waiting a very long time to meet you, Claus _…" she hissed.

--

You were just WAITING for a Higurashi laugh, weren't you? I thought so :3


	18. The Underground Part 2

HA! You thought I was dead, didn't you?! NO WAY! I'm just in the middle of a battle with the evils of College har har

Also, this chapter was Inspired by Higurashi. Crazy laughs for the win!!

--

The evil felt proud of its accomplishments, and soon all his plans will come to fruition. All it needed was the boy and a good source of darkness, and soon, the world will be his again.

Within the twisted forms of the darkness, the evil clutched in his "hand" someone who was once its holder. It had met this person as a young boy, driven to the brink of insanity by his past, driven by jealousy and anger at another person who the darkness itself was against: A boy who somehow channeled his powers through the earth and multiplied it … He and his followers, as well as some … unknown force had defeated this evil.

Thankfully, Giygas knew his end would come, just as the Apple of Enlightenment had told. The young boy he controlled wouldn't believe it, but Giygas knew too well that the Apple's predictions were seldom off.

Giygas had done the unthinkable. He had split himself into two.

Through sheer force and great will, Giygas managed to rip out a piece of his immortality and planted it far into the future, where he was certain he would meet the young boy again. He planted his seed within a heart of an unusual creature, the only one that would be able to stand against time itself.

The Dragon.

Giygas couldn't have planned it better: He would use the dragon as a catalyst and seal his power away. The Magypsies, those fools, would lock away the power of the dragon and use his form as a shield to protect from the oncoming destruction that ended the other world. He would lie and wait, waiting for the time he would be awakened again. While the life forms lived on the back of the dragon, its heart would still beat, keeping the darkness alive.

And then he came back.

Pokey Minch … King Porky.

He saw his opportune moment again and seized it.

Without hesitation, Giygas reached out from the heart and tapped into the mind of the child, deformed both physically and mentally by the passage of time. He would make sure that he would cause harm and despair to the child which could release him. He would masquerade as hope for the child, but underneath that hope is disappointment.

As soon as that child pulled the needle, he had released Giygas, giving birth to a new seed of evil.

Giygas looked at the capsule that he clutched in his 'hands'. Pokey served him well these past few centuries, but now he was nothing more than a useless shell of himself.

'Even with your immortality' … the form hissed, 'I could end your life right now.'

The capsule gave no answer.

'Your life has been filled with jealousy, grief and pain …' Giygas said as he enveloped the capsule in darkness, 'Your reward for serving me shall be death.'

Although he could not hear it, Giygas was sure that inside the capsule, the Evil King Porky would be laughing to the point of tears, happy he would finally see the end.

--

Lucas clutched his father's hand tightly. Something about this place kept making his heart jump. He didn't know if it was the darkness, if it had to do something with the fact that he and Claus were separated, or if it was something deeper than he just couldn't understand. Lucas kept close to Flint, who just stared ahead at the sight before him.

"This is where I found him." Flint said in a daze.

Lucas blinked at Flint. "What?"

"Your brother … This is where I found him all those months ago, when he was still …"

Both Lucas and Flint fell silent as memories flooded their minds.

Lucas looked up to his father. "We still haven't figured out."

Flint shook his head and looked at Lucas. "What was that?"

"Claus. We never found out why he is alive …" Lucas looked at the ground, "I mean, I'm happy about it … It's just that … I feel as if something is going on that made his coming back a taboo."

Flint stared upward. He could not see the ceiling of the mines, all he could see was pitch black.

"Dad … do you think Mom is alive?" Lucas whispered, "Or do you think that's just wishful thinking?"

Flint sighed. "Honestly, after going through this journey … I'm not sure just what to say anymore."

Lucas felt his heart sink.

"But what I do know is …" Flint continued, "Your brother is alive, and as a Father, I am happy. These 4 months that we had with him were some of the best ones I've had in a long time. Lucas, when we find Claus, I want you to promise me one thing, no matter if we find your mother or not."

Lucas looked at his father and smiled. "We won't go on any journeys ever again."

"No … It's not that." Flint said as he kneeled down to Lucas and patted his shoulder. "I want you to promise me, as brothers, you two will never be apart."

Lucas was quite confused at this request, but nodded anyway. "I promise, Dad."

Flint smiled. "Good."

--

Kana wondered through the mines, still running as visions of darkness clouded her head. She could not see or hear anything, all she could do was feel her way through the labyrinth before anything happened to the boys. For Flint's sake, they needed to be alive.

Kana felt her foot slip off the edge of a cliff. She found herself falling over, looking into the bottomless pit of darkness …

She felt a hand grab her arm tightly, her body landing against the face of the cliff. Kana shook her head violently until the visions of darkness were finally cleared. She looked up and saw that Kumatora was grasping her arm tightly.

"Duster, I could use a little help here!!" Kumatora yelled at the theif.

Shortly after, Duster appeared in view, and Kana reached for him with her free arm. Together, both Kumatora and Duster pulled her up from the cliff, and let her rest on the ground. Kumatora cringed in pain as she held her leg.

"Duster … Kumatora …" Kana whispered in a silent voice, "How did you two …?"

Boney barked and rested his head in Kana's lap. 'We were looking for you!' he said, 'It was hard, but somehow I was able to track you down – my nose is getting better!'

"It must be something about this place ..." Kumatora said through her teeth, "but that's just a guess …"

Duster helped Kumatora up and slung her arm over his shoulder. "We have to keep moving, you guys. Something in my gut is telling me that we need to get to Lucas as soon as possible."

"That something is telling me the same thing …" Kana said as she stood up. "We may already be too late.

Kumatora and Duster looked at each other in concern. They didn't want to admit it, but after traveling with her, after fighting with her, after she saved Duster from being corrupted by a ghost, it was hard not to trust her.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, Duster finally managed to get the princess onto his back. He breathed through his teeth as searing pain tortured his mind, but he set that aside, looking towards what was more important.

"Boney, if you could track down Kana … Do you think …"

'Say no more, Duster.' Boney barked. 'I'll do my best in tracking down master and the kids!'

Boney pointed his nose at the ground. The lack of smells made Boney's job easier as he sorted through the different scents that filled the halls. Finally, he had spotted Flint's – that strong cowboy smell he had learned to live with.

Boney shot off in a direction, with Kana, Duster and Kumatora following close behind.

--

Claus was in deep, deep trouble.

He had let Polly lead him away from Lucas, and now was heading towards an unknown area. As he marched through, his heart kept telling him to turn back, that there was something here he did not need to see. But his mind kept persuading him to keep on going, to let Polly lead him. What's the worse that they'll see.

Polly stopped, letting Claus walk on. Claus then stood when he felt Polly stopped, and turned back to her.

"Is anything wrong, Polly?" Claus asked.

"Oh no, everything's fine." Polly said, "No need to worry about me."

Claus looked around the cavern. Still nothing but darkness. "So, where are we?"

"Tell me, Claus." Polly said, "What do you know of … King P?"

That name rang a bell, but his mind just could not pin point where he had heard that before.

"I never told you much about my father, did I …?" Polly said, "He was a scientist … his main goal in life was to reanimate life, to bring back living things from the dead …"

Polly laid her head on his shoulder, almost purring, "You see, dear Claus, he had a daughter … the Daughter died of a terrible illness, and he stricken with grief … he and a group of scientists teamed up … and with extensive research and experimenting … you know what they did …?"

Claus shook his head: he was actually afraid to hear the answer.

"They found a corpse of a small boy, who's tragic life ended when he fell off a cliff."

A cliff …?

"Then what happened? What about the girl?"

Polly went back to her sunny self, skipping a couple steps back from Claus. "You're looking at her!" She said with a smile.

Claus stood there, too shocked to move.

"Yes Claus. Their experiments with the boy went so well … that my Father went and did it again with me. We have something in common."

Claus gulped. "W-what …"

"You know, don't you?"

"Huh?"

Polly's eyes turned into blood-red slits. An evil smiled crept on her face as she started to laugh hysterically. Then, as suddenly as she started, her laughing abruptly stopped, but the smile was still on her face, scaring Claus to no end.

"You know the truth, that you're supposed to be dead. You and I Claus, we're both inhuman! We're sins against natures, you and I, both born from he who holds all the darkness!!"

Claus stepped back from Polly, unaware of the form behind him.

"Claus, you've returned to your grave!! As have I!!" Her voice went into frenzy as she dropped to her knees. "Come!! Play with me Claus! Let us march towards hell as the tabooed sins of nature we are!!"

Claus moved back further. He felt his heel hit something soft, and he slowly turned around. Behind him was the metallic skeletal frame, parts of the body still had skin attached. He studied it intently, and found he was staring at himself, or at least, a dead corpse of himself.

"What is this?!" Claus said with a sickened tone, "Polly, what's going on?!'

"He's back … he's back …" Polly stammered, laughing with a crazed delight. "Master Giygas, have I done well?? Can I finally return home?! Can I finally die?!"

'Yes … my servant …' a loud, booming voice roared, 'You have done quite excellent …'

Before Claus's eyes, Polly's neck started to bleed. The red river fell from her neck, staining her pink dress. Before Claus knew anything, her head fell right off, her smile still on her face, her eyes thanking whatever had given her death …

Claus backed up from the head of Polly, who was smiling up at him. He tried his best to fight off the nausea that threatened to come. All he wanted now was to get out of here, to find Lucas and to go home.

Claus felt his knee being wrapped in darkness. Claus struggled, but in vain: his leg was lopped right off, the blood staining his trousers a deep shade of red. Claus let out a cry of pain. He looked everywhere, but could not find the source of the darkness. He felt so helpless now, and worst of all, he was frightened. Poor Claus, for the first time in ages, felt absolute terror and despair.

"S … Someone! Anyone!! Help me!!" Claus cried out in the darkness.

'Young child … it is far too late to call out for help.' The voice whispered as the darkness lifted Claus's struggling body up. 'But please, do continue. All I need now are his cries of horror …'

Claus screamed as the darkness stuck his way right through his body. The Darkness searched around until finally, it pulled out what it had needed: His seed. Planting this seed in this boy's body was the best idea he could have thought of: Doing so would have revived this boy from the dead and lead his nourishment here, but it would allow the seed to thrive in such a body twisted with horrible sins.

Claus's eyes faded, becoming emotionless. His breathing was shallow as was his heartbeat. The darkness dropped the legless boy on the ground, giving no second thought.

'Your mother was a fool to think she could stop me.' Giygas said darkly.

--

OO


	19. Giygas is here

GUYS, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING READING THIS?! GO PLAY THE MOTHER 3 ENGLISH PATCH, NOOOW!

Also, Apparently Duster has hemophobia.

And this computer desperately wants to change that to homophobia. FOR SHAME!

--

Lucas dropped to his knees, clutching his head. All at once, he felt some powerful force bombard his mind with darkness. He didn't know what was going on, but it was soemthing powerful, he knew that for sure. And that something wasn't making it easy for Lucas to get up. He felt himself vomit, unaware of his father kneeling beside him.

"Lucas! What's wrong?!" Flint asked, concerned.

Lucas shook his head as he fought to keep his lunch down. "I … don't know … I really don't know …"

Flint searched around as if looking for the source of his son's pain, then went back to Lucas, who trembled. He picked up his feeble form and flung him on his back. "Try not to throw up on my shoulder. We need to get to Claus as soon as possible."

"Claus …" Lucas said, his voice trailing off. "Claus … something happened to him …"

Flint blink at his son. He trembled, not in pain this time, but rather in fear. Deep down, Flint knew there was something horribly wrong, involving both Lucas and Claus.

He would not let anything happen to eitehr of them.

He picked up his feet and ran, ignoring his son's cries to slow down. At this point, all he wanted was to get this journey over with. I mean, all they were doing was searching for their mother, right? This is as far as they could go, right? All he had to do was Get Claus, find Kana, Duster and Kumatora and go home.

That's what he wanted to believe. But that was just wishful thinking.

He knew he was dead wrong.

They turned a corner, and Flint stopped dead in his tracks. On the Floor in front of his was a heap of flesh, barely breathing, the same soulless eyes that Lucas had long ago, missing a leg. Lucas let out a cry as he saw this, and immediately jumped off his father's back and went to his brother's side.

"Claus … Claus, what happened?!" Lucas cried, trying to keep his fear hidden.

Claus gave no answer, but instead, stared at him.

Lucas started immediately healing him. He was able to close the wound that the leg left, but in truth, even he himself who pulled the dragon out of his sleep was not able to reattach or even reconstruct a leg. Claus was alive at least.

Or was he?

Lucas pressed his ear against Claus's chest. He listened hard and intently, and while he was breathing, his heartbeat was faint. In a panic, Lucas did his best to heal his brother. But to no avail; He was still emotionless, breathing shallowly, and his heartbeat was still faint.

"What happened to him …?" Lucas asked, more to himself than anyone else.

Flint kneeled down to Claus. He looked pale and lifeless; one would think he was dead at first glance.

Flint felt a sudden horror within his heart. He whirled around and held out the crowbar, but as he did, he felt it taken right out of his hands. He then felt his arms and legs being pinned to his side, unable to move. He looked down and saw that his body was covered with shadows, covering him like a tight veil. He then looked at Lucas, trying in vain to keep back tears of horror.

Behind Lucas, Flint saw darkness rise from below the ground. Flint let out a cry, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the darkness stuffed its 'hands' into Flint's mouth, gagging him. Before his eyes, Flint saw Lucas wrapped in darkness. He was forced to watch as his son got consumed by the shadows that revealed itself to him.

Flint fought and struggled, trying to loosen his arm.

'It is useless' a voice boomed from within the darkness, 'I have my hold on you. And even if you were to escape, you would not get very far.'

"I WANT MY SON BACK!" Flint yelled, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM!"

'Your son has become my next meal … his despair gives me so much energy … Losing his mother and brother, being burdened with the guilt of constantly lying to his brother, whom I might add, was revived by yours truly …"

Flint gritted his teeth, still struggling.

'Your son's soul has been corrupted beyond repair, Flint.' The darkness said, 'And Lucas would've been dead too, if it weren't for his mother using her soul to repair his.'

"So … Hinawa really is dead …" Flint said, hanging his head down.

'Indeed she is. I was going to use her body, but she had already harvested her soul into Lucas. I had to use the next best thing and reconstruct your son's pitiful body.'

The darkness laughed. 'He held my seed while it flourished within his sinned body. And as for Lucas …'

Flint felt his body being released and gently put on the ground.

'You have no chance of seeing him again. He, as well as his mother's soul, will soon be destroyed by my power.'

Flint approached Claus, picking him up in his arms. He was still breathing shallowly: he did not know how much longer he would last.

'Your son will not go very far: As I have said, his soul is corrupted beyond repair. Without a soul, I'm afraid he will die.' The Darkness mused, 'The seed acted as a replacement for his soul. But now that I am done with him, we is no more of use.'

Flint stood there, holding Claus.

"Lucas .. Claus … they're both …"

'Yes. Essentially, they're dead.'

Flint bit his lip as he fought hard to keep back the emotion welling up inside him. After all this time, after all they've been through; His sons will die, just like that? The World would be enveloped in darkness?

No.

No. For his sons, he would not let that happen.

He rested Claus against a boulder and faced the darkness. It would be hard picking a fight with formless creature and without a weapon no less, but he at least had to try. For Lucas, For Claus, and for Hinawa, he had to stop this darkness no matter what.

'You actually think you can stand up against me …?!" The Darkness said, giving out a laugh. 'You Humans are such pitiful creatures. Even the magypsies would have ran by now!!'

"Yeah … well … I'm not a magypsie." Flint said sternly.

'So be it.' The Darkness's tone was more serious than before. 'I won't gain anything from it, but if you desperately want to join your Son, then go ahead … Be my guest, take the first shot.'

Flint rushed at the darkness, ready for a fight.

--

Duster keeled over and threw up.

In front of him, he saw a head of a little girl, smiling at him with such horror that he felt like he would never sleep again.

He would certainly never eat again, he felt sure of it.

Kumatora rolled her eyes as she saw Duster vomit once more. How much did the guy have in him?

"Duster, believe me, I've seen worse." Kumatora said, holding her leg in pain, "I mean, A LOT worse. Sometimes I'm the one that caused it."

"Y-yeah … well-." Duster took a moment to look over the edge of a cliff, seeing if his body wanted to expel any more out of him. Fortunately, it seemed like he was done. "I-I've never really been a fan of blood …" Duster took one last look at the head before Kumatora covered it up with dirt and paid her final respects, Boney beside her, bowing his head. "That poor girl …"

Kana paid her respects as well, then turned to the others. "Giygas used her as a puppet to fufill his needs. It seems he has no more use of her anymore."

"Was this the girl that Lucas and Claus traveled with?" Kumatora asked, "What's her name … Paula or something?"

Kana nodded. "She can finally rest in peace, though."

Duster got up and lifted Kumatora onto his back once again, preparing to venture further. "I have a bad feeling about this, guys. We need to continue before-."

"FLINT!!" Kumatora yelled, startling everyone. The group followed her pointing finger towards the cowboy, being held in the air by an arm of darkness. Kana let out a chant and released an ice attack. Somehow, it managed to wrap itself around the dark arm, and what was more amazing was the fact that the ice broke, the darkness breaking with it. Flint landed on the ground hard. He was sore, but he was alive.

"Flint, you sod!" Kumatora yelled as Duster picked him up, "What the hell do you think you're doing, facing off against this … this …" Kumatora blinked and looked at the twisting darkness around her. "What _are_ you fighting against anyway?"

Kana took one look at the boy on the ground, missing a leg. She felt her heart sink, knowing that they were too late. The seed was taken from the boy's body, and now darkness would rule the land forever.

Kana faced the darkness, showing no fear. "Giygas."

The darkness cursed, as if he hated it that some one knew his name. 'Kana. How good for you to come. And you brought many more snacks for me to feed on!'

"Where is Lucas?" Kana asked simply.

'He has already been devoured by me …' Giygas said, laughing.

"Then take me too." Kana said, stretching her arms out.

Duster and Kumatora stared at Kana, their eyes wide.

Kumatora limped towards her, breathless. "What are you doing?!"

Kana smiled pleasantly at Kumatora. "Don't worry, princess. I know what I am doing."

"You're going to get yourself KILLED!" Kumatora said, clutching at her dress.

Kana pushed Kumatora away and she waited for Giygas to consume her. Kumatora would have been consumed too, if it weren't for Duster pulling her away in time. Kumatora felt horrified and helpless as she saw Kana become wrapped in darkness.

Flint then put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, Kumatora looking up at Flint. He nodded to her, as if to say "Have faith."

Duster, Kumatora, Boney and Flint stood there as the darkness consumed Kana, silent. Kumatora then did something no one would have thought she could do. She clasped her hands together and murmured under her breath.

Kumatora started praying.

--

HA! Kumatora called Flint a sod!! XD


	20. The Darkness

WHOO! I think this is by far the longest chapter of this story yet! It took me 3 days to write!!

--

Kana stepped through the darkness, struggling to keep her mind together. She had to act quickly before the Darkness consumed her entire body. She could feel Giygas and his influence already invader her mind and her heart.

"Lucas … It's not too late, I know that … You're in here, and I'm going to get you out …" Kana said to herself.

It was so dark that she could barely see her hand in front of her face. She chanted some words and summoned a fire ball in her hands, but even that wouldn't light the darkness. She at least could see herself now. Kana stepped forwards a bit, trying to focus on Lucas's presence, hoping to find him within this twisted form.

There! Among the twisted limbs of Darkness, Kana finally spotted Lucas, glowing dimly with what little power he had left, held up by ropes seemingly made out of darkness. Kana ran to him, hoping against all hope that he was still alive. When she approached, she scanned the child. He was unconscious, but somehow, he was protecting himself from behind consumed by the darkness even further.

She smiled. It was his mother protecting him.

"You are so lucky to have a mother who loves you dearly; she would put her own soul on the line for you." She let loose an ice attack on the limb that were holding Lucas up, and caught the boy as he fell.

Lucas twitched, and his eyes fluttered opened. He looked up at the woman who was holding him and smiling pleasantly down on him.

Lucas wanted to say something, but he felt weak and exhausted. All he could muster was a simple "Hi."

"We have to hurry and get out of here …" Kana said, holding Lucas up, "We may still be standing, but if we stay in here long enough, we will be consumed without hope of ever returning.

Lucas moaned and nodded. He was still groggy, but Kana could forgive that. All they needed to concentrate on now was getting out of here.

Kana felt a force knock the wind out of her lungs, sending her flying backward. Lucas let out a cry, distressed that he lost another protector. He turned around but saw no one. How could he fight against someone who had no form?

Kana managed to get up, but the pain she felt in her ribs disrupted her from her thoughts. She couldn't let out a chant that summoned her ice powers or light the darkness. All she could do was look as Lucas struggled with the darkness around him.

Lucas gave out another cry as the Monster proceeded to make nightmarish figures of his own brother's face, scaring him and distracting him from defending himself. He closed his eyes tightly. He did not want to see his brother like that, not again …

Lucas felt his neck being grasped tightly, forcing him to open his eyes. He tried to gasp; in front of Lucas was the form of the masked man, alive and well, his blaster glowing, ready to strike.

Lucas gave out a tiny whimper.

"Lucas!" Kana yelled out, clutching at her ribs, "This beast is trying to trick you! The image you see before you, he is not real!"

Lucas knew that all too well, it just felt too real. The poor child kept remembering all the horrible memories that had to do with the masked man, how he turned out to be his brother all along.

Lucas struggled, running out of air. His vision became blurry as the masked man gripped tighter, blocking his airway.

This was it. He was going to die. Even with Kana trying her best to loosen the man's grip, he was going to die …

_Let Lucas be safe … _

Lucas turned his head to the side, thinking he had heard something.

_Please … let him be safe …_

He thought he heard it – no, he KNEW he heard it again, he was sure of it.

_If there is anything I can do …_

The image of the masked man seemed to be distracted by this call, and loosened his grip on Lucas's neck.

Lucas coughed, hacked, and coughed again. He breathed deeply, letting the air fill his lungs. Kana ran to his side and touched his shoulders, helping any way she could.

"Lucas … something is happening. I'm not sure what, but …" Kana said, her voice trailing off.

"It's Kumatora." Lucas said, his gaze fixed on the wondering Masked Man. "I can hear her … It sounds like she's …"

_Please, for the sake of Flint, Let Lucas and Kana get out of there alive._

"Duster?" Lucas asked, blinking.

"What is it?" Kana asked, oblivious to the sounds that Lucas was hearing.

_All I want is to get Lucas and Claus and get home … So we can finally start our lives on this new world … All I want is to go home and … maybe even hang out with Kumatora … I'd like that …_

Lucas Looked around, seeing no one other than Kana and the wondering masked man. He knew he heard the voices as plain as day, and he knew the masked man could hear them do. Just what were they doing?

Kana grabbed Lucas and ran to the side as the masked man landed on the ground hard with his sword, creating a crater in the floor. Lucas let out a small yelp, but Kana had let go of him, then lifted up her hands to create a psychic shield. She then proceeded to create a single column of fire which she held in her hand like a sword. Lucas gasped; Kana was actually thinking of fighting this thing?!

"Lucas, Your brother's heart was used to hold the seed of evil. If you wish to defeat the evil, then go to its heart and destroy it."

Lucas wasn't sure what to do, but his feet told him to get up and start moving. Lucas moved backwards for a few moments, but then stopped when Kana called out to Lucas again.

"Y-your brother …" Kana said, her eyes concentrated on the Masked man, "He held a part of darkness within his heart. If you destroy this monster's heart … then …"

"I-I understand, Kana …" Lucas said, trying to sound brave, "B-but … he was meant to be dead-." Lucas held his heart, trying in vain not to cry.

_Lucas … please, come back …_

Lucas shook his head as his father's voice rang. No, there will be time for tears later. The more tears he would shed, the more Giygas would corrupt his soul. He had to concentrate on getting to the monster's heart and destroying it.

Lucas's feet moved, moving him forward and towards what he hoped would be the heart. He doesn't know how, but he could feel it beating … he could hear it … the way it sounded … it was almost like his brother Claus.

Lucas's feet stopped moving. In front of him stood the vilest thing he would ever see in his lifetime – Giygas's heart.

It wretched, lumpy, tree that looked like it was made of various parts of human beings. Its outstretched arms and fingers acting as the limbs, the body of the humans acting as the trunk of the tree. Lucas was horrified by this very sight, but he would not let fear hinder his cause. He needed to destroy that tree.

But How?

Lucas paced around the tree. There should be some way he could destroy that tree. He tried letting out a PK Flash against it, but as far as he could tell, it had no effect. He let loose a barrage of his psychic abilities, but again, still no effect. He could practically here Giygas laughing as he made all these futile attempts to destroy Giygas.

Lucas was getting tired. His energy was being drained by the darkness around him, and soon he wouldn't be strong enough to stand up. He fell to his hands and knees, panting. Would this really be it? Would he die here?

_Lucas! Please! We believe in you!! _

Lucas looked up, hearing Kumatora's voice again.

"Kumatora …"

_Flint needs you, Lucas, Kumatora and I need you … please, if there is any way we can help …_

"Duster …"

Lucas's body went aglow. Somehow, he just didn't know how, he felt these prayers rest within his heart.

Lucas let out a psychic blast against the tree once more.

The Tree let out a horrible yell on anguish. The earth around it trembled, and the bloody corpses that made up the tree yelled.

'It's these prayers …' Lucas thought, 'Giygas … somehow these prayers are helping me …'

Without hesitation, Lucas used his powers to reach the minds of his friends and family …

---

Duster looked up suddenly. He felt something touch his mind, almost like a silent call for him. He looked at Flint and Kumatora, who also seemed to have their minds touched.

"Did … you guys just hear something just now …?"

Flint nodded and looked at the swirling vortex of darkness wither in front of him. It seemed his son finally found the Monster's weakness.

_"Guys … Dad, Boney, Kumatora, Duster, and Kana … If you guys can hear me …"_

"We hear you, Lucas! Are you okay?!" Kumatora yelled out, although Lucas was nowhere to be found.

"_Guys … I need you to keep praying_ …"

The requested sounded more than farfetched.

"Excuse me?"

"_Your prayers. I don't know why, but they're helping me … keep on praying, it seems Giygas is weak to these feelings_."

Duster and Kumatora looked at each other, but then faced the Darkness again.

Flint nodded and bowed his head, thinking intently, pleading to anyone who could hear him …

_Give my son strength …_

---

Lucas felt the power move through his veins. He felt stronger than ever before, stronger than he ever was in his lifetime. He let the power move from his heart to his hands, letting out another psychic blast at the enemy, who wailed in pain as he did.

The Darkness finally decided to retaliate. The tree sent roots of rotting corpses after Lucas, but he dodged swiftly with ease. He heard the people pray for his safety and for the destruction of this dark one, and used those prayers as power. It seems to be working!

But after a while, Giygas caught on. He sent a root of corpses and stuck him square in the back. Lucas let out a cry as he landed hard on the ground, the tree before him.

_"Your friends may make you powerful, but it's but bother to mine"_ The evil said_, "I will have this world yet, and you will soo-!"_

Lucas heard the monster being cut off as he struggled to get off. Before his ears, he heard a cacophony of screams and yells of pain. Lucas looked up and gasped at the sight he saw.

He saw his mother before him.

_"Y … You … Hinawa …"_ The evil sounded too winded to speak_, "All of my power against yours, and I still can't sway your mind toward the darkness."_

Lucas got up and reached out towards his mother, but paused. She gave off a slight blue glow and sparkle, so he assumed it useless to touch her. But at least he could come to her side.

Lucas crept up and looked at his mother, who smiled warmly down at him.

"Mom? Are you …?"

The mother gave no response, but instead, embraced her son. He felt a warm glow envelope him as he heard his mother speak to him …

_"I am always with you, my son …"_ Hinawa spoke in his mind_, "Your friends' prayers and my love, you will bring down the seed of evil."_

Lucas nodded, somehow understanding. He clutched his heart and rested his feet in the ground. The Holy energy spawned from his mother spread from his body into the ground, reaching the tree. Again, the tree let out horrific cries of pain.

Lucas opened his eyes and smiled, but that smile quickly faded. The Tree was still alive!!

After all he let out, after all the power he used; the tree still hadn't been felled. Lucas was frustrated and tired, and he fell to his knees. No matter how much the prayers were reaching him, he had run out of power; those prayers fell on deaf ears.

"I'm sorry, Dad, Flint, Boney, Kumatora, Kana …" Lucas felt his heart slow a few beats, letting tears out of his eyes, "I'm sorry … Claus …"

_Lucas …_

Lucas lifted his head. No, it couldn't be, could it?

_Lucas, I'm here!_

Lucas shook his head. It was! It was Claus!

"Claus?" Lucas said softly, "Where are you?"

'Dummy!' Claus's voice rang out, 'I'm right in front of you!'

Lucas saw nothing but the tree

'I'm part of the tree, Lucas!' Claus said, as if stating the obvious, 'When Giygas took the seed out of my body, he took a part of my soul too. I know it doesn't make sense, but …'

Lucas shook his head, "What are you doing?"

'Lucas, I won't last long, neither in here … nor out there. Either way I'm going to die.'

Lucas felt tears fall out, "W-what do you mean?!"

'Anything that giygas can create, he can also destroy.' Claus said, 'I'm a part of Giygas now. I can destroy him from the inside. But if I do that, I'll also be destroying my soul in the process.'

Lucas couldn't stop the tears coming out. "B-But Claus!"

'Lucas, I'm supposed to be dead.' He said, sounding disappointed, 'It's sad but it's true …'

Claus appeared in front of Lucas, looking as happy as the 10 year old boy he was so many years ago.

'Giygas use me and my body for his evil deeds. But he doesn't expect me to fight against him, eh?'

Lucas cried. Claus sighed and smiled.

'Don't worry about me, Lucas. Mom's with you at least, I can see her right there.' Claus pointed to Lucas. 'You were right, she is alive.'

Lucas gasped as he saw Claus disappear right before his eyes. He let out a wail of despair, but Claus ignored all warnings that Lucas gave out.

'I'm doing this for you, Lucas.' Claus's voice rang out again. 'And for Dad.'

Before Lucas's eyes, the tree was being destroyed. All the corpses on the tree rotted away completely until they were nothing but dust. Around Lucas, the darkness twisted and churned, and then disappeared before him. Lucas's tears fell as if there was no tomorrow. He didn't even get to say goodbye …

A bright light shown and the tree fell, blinding him and all the people he cared about around him.

--

*Sighs* well, I gotta go take an exam. See ya Peepes. (The next chapter MAY be the last!)

Don't forget to stay turned for further updates of "Betrothed and Betrayed"!


	21. Peace at last

LAST CHAPTER AHOY~

--

Lucas sat there crying. He wanted to do something, but the sadness that welled up inside his heart kept him from doing any action. His body felt weak and feeble, despite the darkness disappearing and the sight of his friends and father approaching him.

"Lucas! Oh dear god! Are you okay?!" Kumatora asked immediately upon arrival, "Lucas, we were so worried about you! Don't you ever run away again!"

Duster coughed "What she means to say is … well, we're all glad to see you, Lucas."

Flint approached Lucas and hugged him tightly, so tight in fact that Lucas thought he would be squished. Flint then released his hug and faced Lucas with a concerned smile. "Where's Kana?"

Lucas's heart jumped. "K-kana! Omigosh, where is she?!" Lucas said, remembering his friend who had saved him from being consumed by the darkness. "Where is she?!"

Kumatora motioned her body towards the limbless Claus, and a cloaked figure hovering over him. Lucas recognized that cloak as Kana's, and approached her cautiously. "K-kana?" Lucas gulped. "Are you okay?"

Without turning to greet her friend, Kana sighed. "I'm afraid the darkness took too much of my soul." Kana said dejectedly, "I won't last long …"

"Wait … what?" Lucas asked, confused, "B-but what do you mean? You sound okay?"

"But I'm not, Lucas, that's just a fact … I'm not as powerful as you: you have your mother's soul with you … I'm vulnerable to the darkness's power, even if Giygas was defeated."

Kana finally turned to Lucas, her form half taken by the darkness. But despite the twisting darkness crawling up her body, she still managed to crack a smile on her face. "You did good, Lucas. Giygas won't take the world."

Lucas tried to feel proud of himself, but looking at Claus, barely alive; he couldn't help but feel lousy. "Claus won't survive either, will he?"

Kana looked at Claus, then at Flint, to Lucas, then back to Claus. She gazed upon each person, deep in thought, then sighed. "Lucas, there's one thing I can do."

Lucas looked at Kana, hopeful.

"As I said before, much of my soul has been taken by darkness, corrupted beyond repair … but I can take what's left of my soul …" Kana looked at Claus, "… and repair his."

Lucas felt a smile creep on his face, but he shook his head to erase the smile. "S-so you're leaving then?"

Kana sighed, "I'm afraid so."

Lucas looked down, holding back tears. Flint put an arm on his son's shoulder, signaling him it's okay to cry. Duster held his broken arm, shifting weight between his feet. Kumatora looked away, trying to avoid showing emotion.

"I'm not really leaving you …" Kana whispered, smiling sadly, "I'm joining your mother."

Lucas tried to ask what she meant, but before he could, Kana laid her outstretched arm on Claus's forehead. Both he and Kana glowed a light-green color, and when the light faded, Kana's arm rested at her side. Lucas approached Kana hesitantly.

Kana's form fell to her side, her body lying limp on the ground. Her body sparkled, and then rapidly disappeared to dust. Lucas let tears fall off his face, mourning her loss.

Duster sighed, "Lucas, I-I'm sorry …" he said, his voice broken up with emotion, "Kana was looking out for your best interest …"

"It's not your fault, Lucas." Kumatora interjected, "She saved you, she rescued you …"

Flint looked at Claus and gasped when he saw his form moving. Claus stood up on his seat and shivered a bit, looking away from his blood-stained trousers.

"D-dad …? Lucas …?" Claus said, his voice quivering. "W-what happened?"

Lucas ran to his brother and embraced him tightly, Flint following shortly. Soon after, Kumatora and Duster joined in, hugging the red-headed boy. Claus felt quite awkward to say the least, but he let all his friends and family hug him none the less. Once the hug finally broke apart, Kumatora rubbed her thumb under her nose and smiled.

"So … how do we get out of here?"

Duster stared up at the non-existent and rubbed his goatee. "Y'know what? I've no clue."

"Um … i-if I may say something …?" Claus piped up, everyone looking at him. "I-I'm not sure … I might be able to get us out of here … these words keep popping in my mind … anyone heard of 'PSI teleport'?"

Duster gulped.

---

Hinawa smiled as she watcher her husband and two sons leave the place of darkness. She would not have to see them die after all. They could finally live in peace like she wanted them to.

Hinawa peered over beside her and saw Kana approaching, smiling.

"You really did not have to do that." Hinawa said, smiling pleasantly, "You could have lived easily."

"Your son needed Claus." Kana said, "A little white lie never hurt anyone."

"But you realize you're dead now." Hinawa said, touching Kana's arm. "There's not much you can do now."

"No. I know we're dead, but in your sons' minds, we're alive." Kana said, looking in the distance.

"Will you accompany me to limbo?" Hinawa said, "I would like it if I could have some company as I finally rest my soul in peace."

"I would be happy to do so … are you sure you want to leave now?"

"My boys are safe, the evil is gone, my duty is done …" Hinawa said. "I'm pretty sure I will leave."

"Claus has successfully pulled off my teleportation power …" Kana said, walking beside Hinawa. "He's a smart boy."

"Wait until he learns all your other powers. Poor Lucas is going have a handful to deal with." Hinawa said, laughing a bit.

"The boys have each other now …" Kana said, smiling, "And hopefully they'll remain that way for some time …"

--

_3 months later …_

"Lucas! Lucas wake up!"

Lucas moaned and rolled over in his bed. It was way too early for this, all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Lucas!!" Claus poked the bottom of Lucas's bed with a crutch, "Lucas! Wake up! Look out the window!!"

Lucas moaned once again, but finally gave in to Claus's calls. He stood up and yawned, rubbing his eyes, then peered out the window. He was surprised to see snow.

"S-snow?" Lucas said, his voice filled with fatigue, "This early? But why …?"

"We don't question the weather, Lucas." Claus said, limping out of bed with his hand gripped tightly on the crutch, "We just enjoy what weather there is!"

"I don't think I can ever enjoy snow …" Lucas said, jumping out of his bed, not even paying attention to his ladder.

"Come on! Let's wake dad up and hurry out!" Claus said, limping as fast as he could out the door.

Lucas sighed and smiled. Despite the fact that he was without a leg now, he was still his youthful and energetic. He still found amusement in his everyday life, and for that, both Lucas and Flint were happy. It took a while for Claus to get use to a crutch, but once he got on, it was hard to keep up with Claus – even duster found it difficult to stay beside Claus.

Lucas got dressed and hurried outside, seeing his father already in work with the sheep. They exchanged smiles and waves, but Lucas soon took off again, following his brother. Soon, they found themselves out playing by the river, where they use to play so long ago.

"Hey … Lucas …" Claus said suddenly as Lucas threw a snowball in the frozen river, "I was wondering … do you still go to her grave?"

"What?"

"Y'know …" Claus stared into the frozen river, contemplating, "Mom's grave. Do you still go there? I mean, when you use to just sit in front of her grave … do you do that anymore?"

Lucas stared into the river, "well … I did for a while. But I couldn't hear mom's voice anymore … I think she may have finally gone away."

Claus shook his head. "So she was dead after all."

Lucas looked at Claus and smiled, "No, she's still alive as you said."

Claus looked at Lucas and blinked. "What?"

"She might not be with us but she's still alive." Lucas took up another snowball and threw it into the frozen river again.

Claus smiled. "But we have each other now, right?"

"right!" Lucas laughed. "And we're gonna stay that way!!"

Lucas and Claus shared laughs; letting memories of the journey they took fill their minds again.

--

Duster sighed and looked down the river, frozen in place. He never really like the snow, so waking up and finding the land covered in a gentle blanket of white was certainly not the wakeup call he had in mind. Kumatora on the other hand found the snow to be quite enjoyable.

"Hey, Duster, smile!" Kumatora said, putting her hands on his shoulders, "Nothing eventful happened during these past 3 months – or are you still mad that Claus beat you in a race around Osohe castle?"

"W-what?" Duster shook his head and stared at Kumatora, who was smiling at him. "O-oh no, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Um … well …" Duster rubbed the back of his neck and coughed. "Remember 3 months ago … um … you … uh, well, you asked me if … well … um, if we could … y'know … hang out sometime …?"

Kumatora blinked. "Are we hanging out right now?"

Duster coughed vigorously again "I-I mean … I don't know … I guess … I … um …"

"If you have something to say, spit it out!" Kumatora yelled, threatening Duster with a closed fist.

"I was just wondering if it would be okay that I could come back to your place and make us some tea!!" Duster yelled, unable to control his voice. Kumatora's closed fist was a sight he just did not like.

Kumatora opened her hand again and smiled. "Of course, I was actually going to ask you the same thing."

Duster looked hopeful. "Really?"

"No." Kumatora simple said.

Duster pouted.

"But yes, you can."

Duster looked at Kumatora and smiled.

"But this is just a visit. No funny business now, y'hear?"

"O-oh, of course!" Duster said, smiling nervously, "I wouldn't dream of doing anything with you."

"What was that?!" Kumatora yelled.

"ER … I mean …"

Duster felt cold snow being pushed in his face, and soon he found himself running from the angry princess, an armful of snowballs in her grasp. Flint watched from afar as He saw the battle commence, smiling with silent amusement.

"I remember when we were like that …" Flint said, talking toward the sky, "Maybe one day, one of the boys will find themselves in that same position too … I wish you were still around to see that."

The wind blew, and Flint could've sworn he heard a voice whispering "I am …"

Flint looked at the sky again and nodded. "I love you, Hinawa …"

The sky did not answer this time.

But he knew she said the same thing.

Hinawa was still alive.

--

Well, that's the end. Thanks for everyone's support throughout this whole story!! Stay tuned for an Update of "Betrothed and Betrayed"


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